It all started one day long ago
by Kagome5
Summary: ^_^ Finaly I'm done with the Sequel to my first story, "Can Love Concur Death". U just have to read this one!! It's total love and drama. A pure Inu/Kag, with just a hint of Mik/San in it! YAY!!
1. Important Messege! Must read!

~**Important**! Must read!!!~

~Okay! Hi!!!! Yep! I'm back! And with the sequel to the beginning of this story, "Can Love Concur Death?" If this is a person reading this who hasn't read the first part of this continuing tale, then please, if you want to actually understand everything, then go and read "Can Love Concur Death" first. If you have already read the first tale, then feel free to go on ahead! Kay! ^.^ Oh yeah! If you really don't care, then just do what you please. It's not like I'll know the difference. All the same, please enjoy this continuing romance!! And also, thanks to all of you who voted for this! I really wanted this one! ^_~HeHe!~

chibikagome1@yahoo.com

ONWARD TO THE STORY!!!!!!!!!!---------------------------------------


	2. Chapter One the Moon's Rainbow

~Chapter One~ ~The Moon's Rainbow~

"Inu-Yasha!!?? Where are you taking me!!??" Kagome laughed out as Inu-Yasha held her hand, running her through the mystical wood which was near Kaede's village.

"You'll see when we get there! Be patient!!" He stated back to her quickly before continuing to focus on which path they were heading down.

Kagome had no idea as to why or where Inu-Yasha was taking her to, but she smiled all the same, for the feel of his fingers laced with her own was perfect.

Finally, after more twists and turns into the trees, they came out into a clearing, beside a cliff, not too steep, but not too short down either.

There, Inu-Yasha brought Kagome to the ledge of the cliff and sat her down.

"Kagome?" He questioned after a few moments of catching breath.

Kagome turned to him and stared. "Yeah?"

"Sorry for not telling yah where we were headed, but I didn't want to spoil it!" He explained.

Kagome nodded. "Well, okay. But why here? I've been to this cliff many times! What's there new to see?" She asked.

Inu-Yasha smiled. "I heard once when I was young that on nights like these, one can see the moon's rainbow."

Kagome smiled. "You believe in that? I remember when Kouga told us the story of him and Ayumi and the moon's rainbow, and when Sango, Miroku, and I all saw it, you said you couldn't! Can you now?" She quivered.

Inu-Yasha looked down. "I saw it once a long time ago, when I was little. With my mother. She pointed it out to me, and I remember I saw it. She said that only ones with pure hearts can look up on a fall midnight sky and see the rainbow, and that I must have had a beautiful heart, for I could see it even better then her! She told me also that when people get older, and grow up, it's harder to see it because the child within has been burned away forever. I tried to see it again, but could never find it once I turned a certain age. I paid no heed, but now it matters. I got to thinking the other day, that if I can not see it, then I must have a blood-soaked heart. An evil and hated heart. If this is true, then I won't be able to see it tonight either."

His words were sad and hard to put out. Kagome knew he had said something that surly he would have never told anyone else.

She placed her hand on his shoulder. "So, do you hate me?"

Inu-Yasha turned to face her and stared in horror. "WHAT???!!!! NEVER EVER!!! WHY WOULD YOU SAY SUCH A DAMN THING LIKE THAT!!!????"

Kagome lowered her head. "You said you hated me because…….."

Inu-Yasha pulled her close and shook his head. "NO!!!! NOT EVER COULD I HATE YOU!!! WHAT EVER GAVE YOU THIS IDEA!!!! I LOVE YOU!!!! MORE THEN ANYTHING OR ANYONE IN THE UNIVERSE!!!!!! WHAT DID I DO TO YOU TO MAKE YOU-"

Suddenly, Kagome began laughing and she placed her finger over his mouth to stop his screaming.

"W….WHAT'S SO FUNNY _MISS HIGURASHI_!!!!???" He exclaimed, using her last name signifying that he was serious.

Kagome stopped her laughing and smiled. "I know you don't hate me. You said you had a blood-soaked heart. An evil and hated heart. If you did, how could you say that and get so upset? How dare you say such things about yourself like that. Your heart is just as your mother said those many years ago. It's beautiful. Who cares if you can't see that rainbow or not! I really don't think it's even real! It can be seen by those who think it's there. I believe that, but you shouldn't be going and saying things like hating your heart because of some myth!! Remember that."

Inu-Yasha stared, then smiled. "Thanks. What would I do without you?"

"So? What was the reason you brought me here??!!" She questioned. 

Inu-Yasha rolled his eyes. "Oh yeah! About that! I wanted to know…..can you see the rainbow?"

Kagome didn't look up. "Can you see it?"

Inu-Yasha sighed.

"Come on, look up!! If you believe in it, you can see it! Trust me." Kagome stated.

Inu-Yasha knew he couldn't see it, so he said nothing and refused to look up.

"OOHHH!!!! You're so hard to come by sometimes!!!" Kagome yelled, then looked up slowly.

She stared as the stars and the full moon brightly hung over head.

Gradually, she began to see the colors. First red, then blue, then purple, then orange. Green and pink. White and surprisingly black!

"Inu-Yasha……" She whispered.

He looked up at her.

She looked to him and smiled, enchantment in her eyes.

She reached over and took Inu-Yasha hand, positioning his pointing finger towards the colors across the moon's light.

His eyes widened. "I…..can see it!!" He exclaimed in shock.

Kagome laid her head down onto his shoulder. "Your heart is breathtaking. It is why you are so great. It is because of who you are on the inside that counts. One's heart may at times be fooled by darkness, but in truth, it can escape that fate and see again what lies within."

Inu-Yasha smiled and listened to her breathe.

It was so wonderful. 

"Thank you, Inu-Yasha, for bringing me out here tonight. I love being with you." She explained softly.

He stared back up at the moon's rainbow and blushed as he remember what he had intended to do as well.

"Kagome…..that's not all I brought you here tonight to do."

Kagome looked up at him and stared. "Well….what's on your mind?"

Inu-Yasha's blushing darkened, and Kagome could even tell now, even in the dark!!

"What is it, Inu-Yasha? You've never acted like this……before."

Her words were slowed down as Inu-Yasha placed his hand over her cheek.

He stared deeply into her eyes. He loved her so much he couldn't express it.

He didn't know though, but Kagome could see it in his eyes as she stared back up at him.

She knew that she was more important to him then Kikyo, or any other person on the face of that earth. 

*Why is he acting so weird tonight? Is he hiding something?* She thought to herself.

"Kagome……will…..you……be my lover?"

Kagome smiled. "I _am _your lover!" She corrected him.

Inu-Yasha shook his head. "No!! I mean…….uh……..will you….be my mate……..my soul mate?" He uttered out.

Kagome stared at him. *Does he mean marry him?" She thought in confusion.

She saw it in his eyes and knew right then that that was what he was saying, in his own way of course.

Her lips curved into a gentle smile.

"……………..yes………"

Inu-Yasha's heart rose.

He couldn't help himself that he pulled her into his arms and laid his lips over hers with care.

Kagome closed her eyes and took in every bit of the feel of his lips.

So warm. So soft. So tender.

She knew she wanted to be with no other.

She knew she could live a perfect life with him, so she let him kiss her more.

The soft kiss turned into a passionate kiss, and Kagome opened her eyes and stared up at him.

He looked back at her.

His eyes smiled.

She felt so loved and wanted. Never before had she ever felt so alive and free and knowing that she would always have a place in his heart. In his arms.

She slowly pushed away and laid her head onto his shoulder. 

"I love you, Inu-Yasha. I will be by your side forever. I swear it on my name." She whispered.

"Sorry to say I haven't found the time to go out and find you something as a gift." Inu-Yasha confessed.

Kagome wrapped her arms around him and held him tightly.

"Whether you get me a gift or not, I already have what my heart desires and will only need for all eternity."

Inu-Yasha looked down to her. "And what would that be?"

Kagome smiled. "………you………"

With that, Kagome kissed him again.

This time, much deeper and loving then before.

Soon, the only thing both of them could remember was feeling so much love that it completely took over, and they were lost in their passion and affection.

~Okay!! That's the first chaptie to my sequel! Hope you all like so far! Please keep on reading! ^_^ I'm having fun!!!~

~chibikagome1@yahoo.com~


	3. Chapter TwoSomthing so shocking, one may...

~Chapter Two~ ~Something so shocking, one may as well faint~

~One Month Later~

Inu-Yasha sat beside Kaede's hut, tapping his claws on the wood building impatiently.

"HEY!!! YAH OLD HAG!!!! GET YOUR ASS OUT HERE!!!!!!!" He screeched.

The priestess came out with an aggravated look on her face.

"Inu-Yasha!!! HUSH!!!! One can hear yee from the far end of town!!!!"

Inu-Yasha rolled his eyes.

"So? I wanted to ask you, have you seen Kagome around? She went somewhere yesterday, but she didn't tell me where!" He questioned.

Kaede stared. "Well, if yee really wish to know, young Kagome said to me that she wasn't feel too well, and has decided to go back to her time for a while. She hasn't been there in over 4 weeks, and her family must be worried about her."

Inu-Yasha nodded. *Damn. What about the secret. No one knows except for Sango, Miroku, Shippo, and Kaede that Kagome and I are soul mates! Better put as man and wife!!! That night a month ago…….we gave each other our hearts. In Kagome's time we would have had to have a wedding, but not in my time. All we had to do was know that we love each other, and tell anyone close to us such as friends that we've made such a decision to be that devoted!* He thought to himself.

"What will her mother take of the news when she hears that you and Kagome are together in such a manner?" Kaede suddenly questioned.

Inu-Yasha shivered. "I know Kagome's mom. I have no clue how she'll think of _that_. I was viewing the exact same thing just now."

Kaede nodded. "Well, Kagome once told me that one has to be a certain age in her time to be wed! It's different from this time here. One can be wed here as long as they're able to bear children. It's rather strange if you ask me. I'm sure everything will turn out okay though. Don't worry about it too much Inu-Yasha."

Inu-Yasha nodded, but was still worrying inside his mind.

*What bothers me is the fact that Kagome wasn't feeling well when she left! I wonder what's up?* He thought as he looked up to the blue sunny sky.

~Kagome's era~

Kagome sat on her front porch looking off at her little brother Souta, whom was kicking a soccer ball around the shrine yard happily.

"Kagome? Why the long face? You look like you've been in a trance and you can't wake yourself up!" Kagome's mom suddenly stated.

Kagome looked up quickly and put on her best smile.

"Um…yeah! I guess I'm just tired!" She explained, trying to avoid any subject on Inu-Yasha or for the most, the warring states era all together.

But moms have a way of seeing things right off the bat, and Kagome found her mother's hand on her shoulder a moment later, giving her a most worried look.

"Kagome, dear? what's wrong? You can tell me anything, you know!" She stated.

Kagome turned away from her mom.

"Uh….no…..nothing-" "Is it about Inu-Yasha?" Her mom suddenly butted through her sentence and brought up the one thing she'd rather not speak of.

"I knew it! Has he done anything to you Kagome!!!!!?? ANSWER ME!!!!!!" Her mom exclaimed.

Kagome sighed. "Mom!! It's okay! Inu-Yasha hasn't done anything to me at all!!! It's just……….."

Her mom stared. "it's just _what_?" She kept on as if she was forcing Kagome to spill over.

Kagome knew what she had to do. She had to tell her mom that her and Inu-Yasha were……married!!!

"Mom….please! Whatever you do…..don't freak out!" She began.

Her mom nodded and listened rather closely.

"Mom…….I…….I'm sort of………married to Inu-Yasha."

The last words were like needles pinned her mom down and not letting go!!!

"KAGOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHAT DO YOU MEAN _YOU'RE MARRIED TO INU-YASHA_!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!???????????????????????" She cried out with anger and fury.

Kagome felt the guilt running through her vanes at that very moment.

"Mom…….I……" But just as she was about to scream that she was sorry, a thought came to her.

Why should she be ashamed to be Inu-Yasha's??? She wanted to be his and his only!!! It wasn't a bad thing, and she didn't regret any of it at all!!!!!

It was all clear to her.

"Mom…………I don't care what you say. I know I'm too young, but not over in the other world!!"

"BUT KAGOME….-" "Let me finish."

Kagome continued. 

"I love Inu-Yasha. I love him more then anything. I've always loved him, and he loves me. He'd never do anything to hurt or bother me. He just….loves me for me. Not anyone or anything else is more important to him! How can it be so wrong to love? I understand that I'm young….but…..should that matter when you know what you want? You told me once, mom, that you and daddy fell in love when you were only 9 years old!! Then you both got married when you were only 17!!! I'm 16 mom!!! And Inu-Yasha's 18!!! It's not like there's a big difference there!!!!!"

Kagome's mom was speechless. 

"Mom……I know what I want. I followed my heart, mom. Inu-Yasha and I want to never leave each other's sides, ever. I love him. I love him…….." A tear ran down Kagome's cheek.

Kagome's mom looked to her and wiped away the tear with her hand gently, then took her face into her palms.

"Kagome? You realize what this means though?" She questioned.

Kagome nodded. "I'm ready for no matter what. I can achieve anything…with Inu-Yasha by my side. Same goes for him. I know."

Kagome's mom nodded. She was upset, but when she saw her daughter's eyes looking back at her, she could see that Kagome truly knew what needed to be done. What was to be done.

"I trust you…..Kagome. But please……let me at least speak with Inu-Yasha when he comes, if he does."

Kagome nodded and hugged her mom tightly.

"I understand now, Kagome. I remember how much I loved your father. I wanted to be with him so badly. We got married so young, but it was a good age. I miss him………….." Her mom stated.

Kagome smiled. "Me too, mom. Me too."

The mother and daughter sat there and hugged for a good 5 minutes before going off to arrange what was to be done and said when the time came.

~A day later, still in Kagome's era~

Kagome walked through the grocery store slowly.

For some reason she was rather slow these days.

She sighed and looked over the list of things to get for her mom.

"Well, let's see here now………..#1 Flour…..Check……….#2 milk……check……..#4 The largest bag of cookies you can find……..che-WHAT???????" She stopped herself as she saw the oddly scribbled in writing on the demand of cookies.

She stared at the list. "That's not mom's handwriting!!!! What gives here!!!???" She exclaimed.

The sudden image of young Souta rushing into the kitchen to fill in his desire for sweets onto the shopping list popped into her head.

"Souta…….that little brat!!!! Well, I guess I'll get those cookies. It won't hurt me…but I'm not doing it next time!!" She explained to herself as she headed down to the sweets aisle

As she rushed down, she suddenly saw the noodles and right away thought of Inu-Yasha.

She smiled. *I miss him. I think I'll get a few packs for him. He'd like that a lot. I know that guy! He can't get over noodles!!!* She stated.

She soon collected the cookies, and was even kind enough to get two boxes of them instead of just one.

*Souta will like this! It's nice to be a good older sister _sometimes_!* She told herself in thought.

As she was headed towards the checkout lines, she passed the area where everything was for women, and her eyes caught something immediately.

The testers for pregnancy.

She stared at them for a good long while.

*Well, it's not like I'll need them or anything….but….heck! Just for the fun of it, I'll get a pack!* She stated in mind as she grabbed up one package and set it into her cart.

She was soon paying for everything and headed back home.

~2 hours later, STILL in Kagome's era~

"OHHHHH!!!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH SIS!!!! I'LL PAY YAH BACK, I SWEAR!!!! YOU'RE THE COOLEST!!!!!" Were the words that Souta screeched out once he found the two boxes of cookies on the counter as Kagome set everything out.

Kagome smiled at her little brother. 

"Well, I was thinking of you, but you need to ask next time you want something from the store instead of sneaking it onto the list. Alright?"

Souta nodded and was soon out of the room with a mouth full of cookies.

Kagome's mom sat at the dinner table and stared at her daughter.

"Kagome……I see you with Souta at times. You would make a very good mother, you know that!" She explained.

Kagome blushed. "Really? I always thought I was terrible with kids!!"

Her mom laughed a bit. "Well, most do say that, but when they have a child of your own, everything changes. You attitude towards kids at least!"

Kagome nodded and was suddenly reminded of the testers she had gotten that day at the store.

"Well, I'd better get going up to my room to…..um….do stuff!" She stated, and with that ran out of the room and up the stairs.

Kagome's mom stared, then went about to start up dinner.

~In Kagome's room a half an hour later~

Kagome laid on her bed and thought.

*Why did I get those testers today? It's not like I'm worried or anything about being pregnant! I have total confidence that I'm not!! That night a month ago….when Inu-Yasha and I sat under the moon's rainbow. We made love that night. But we were careful!!! I swear we were!*

She quickly sat up onto her bed and slapped her hands together.

"That's it!!! No more worries! I'm not pregnant and that's all there is to it!!!"

But as she sat there on her bed, looking over at her handbag which she put the testers in, she suddenly had the feeling that she should just check, to be sure, and to get the bad inspiration off her back.

She went to the bathroom to do what she had to do.

It wasn't more then 10 minutes and she walked over to the tester while reading a book slowly.

She wasn't expecting anything to happen, and she was simply taking her time.

She didn't even think about it as she set the book down to her side and glanced at the tester.

Her eyes widened.

For a moment, all was silent, and the stillness was more disturbing then anything else!!

She dropped the book to the floor without a care and felt tears prick her eyes.

Not tears of joy. 

Tears of fear.

"………..Positive…………" She whispered in shock.

Her hands trembled as she set the tester down and rushed to find her mom, who was the only one at the time who could clear this up for her.

*SURLY THERE'S A MISTAKE!!!!!! I CAN'T BE………..PREGNANT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!*

~Yep! There's the second chaptie! I like it so far! Hope you do too! Keep on reading my friends! ^.^~

~chibikagome1@yahoo.com~


	4. Chapter Threewhy should I regret what I'...

~Chapter Three~ ~Why should I regret what I've done?~

Kagome sobbed in her mother's arms.

"NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THIS CAN'T BE!!!!!!!!!!!! IT'S NOT REAL!!!!!! IT'S NOT!!!!!" She screamed.

Kagome's mom shook her head. "Kagome…hush…..we've done the tests over 5 times now, and they've all come out positive. There's nothing you can do about this." 

Kagome shook her head frantically. "NO!!!! THERE'S A MISTAKE!!! THERE'S A MISTAKE!!!!! I'M NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" She cried out.

"Kagome……"Her mom looked down at her daughter and stared.

Kagome was panic-stricken!

"KAGOME!!!!!!!! GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Her mom finally shouted out.

Kagome stopped her hysterical crying and sniffed, listening to her mother.

"Now, Kagome. I don't know when this has happened, or how, but….is this child Inu-Yasha's? He's the only one who-" 

"DON'T MAKE IT SOUND LIKE IT'S _HIS _FAULT CAUSE IT'S NOT!!!! YES!!!! THIS…..child is his." She lowered her voice, realizing such a thing.

Kagome's mom breathed in and out for a moment.

"Now, Kagome. Listen to me carefully so you can get it through your head. You are pregnant. You carry a child! What's done is done, and I'm disappointed in you for not telling me you had gone _that _far with him in the first place, but that is the past. This is now. You are now. We can not change what has already been done, but we can do something about the future. I want you to go upstairs and get some rest, but I want you to think about 2 things. What you have done to yourself, and what you can do. You can either have this child and destroy your life as a young teenager, or you can use abortion. It's still not too late. If that is what you want, then tell me by tomorrow morning. I am no longer mad with you, because I know that _you _were the one that did this to yourself, not me." And with that, her mom went into the kitchen in silence.

Kagome hung her head and slowly walked up the stairs.

~5 Hours later~

Kagome lay under her covers in the darkness of her room. 

She heard her mom go to bed after a long time of thinking things through.

Her grandpa and Souta were still unaware of what was happening.

The tears covering Kagome's cheek hours before had dried, but they threatened every few seconds to start up again, for she knew that she couldn't change what had been done.

*I…..don't understand. Inu-Yasha and I…..we're so young. Am I really ready to have a child? Am I really ready to become a mother? Do I want to put Inu-Yasha through all this? No. He's so young as well. I don't want to bother him with this. Should I use abortion? ………………………………...no. Never. Inu-Yasha and I created this, and even if Inu-Yasha may not want this child, I would never let it die. Never let it live. No matter what…this baby will be born. I understand that I'm young, but…..I know a lot. Mom thinks that I was foolish to go so far with Inu-Yasha already, but in truth…….I knew what I wanted. I wanted to be with Inu-Yasha. I wanted to hold him till the day I die and beyond that. I was ready. I may have lost myself that night under the moon, but……I knew one thing. I loved Inu-Yasha. I will forever. This is _our _child. I will love it too. Perhaps not as much as Inu-Yasha…..but enough as a mother would her infant.*

With those final words in thought, she closed her eyes and actually found a peaceful slumber, just as the clock chimed 3:00 a.m..

~The next morning~

Kagome stood in front of her mom's doorway.

She felt a lot better about everything now, and wasn't afraid to face her mother.

Soon, she answered Kagome's knocks and let her in without a word spoken.

"Kagome……what have you decided?" She questioned as soon as the door closed behind Kagome.

Kagome sighed and remembered what she had told herself in thought the night before.

She nodded. "Mom…….I've decided……to have this child. I can't bear to lose it. I will never harm an innocent soul as long as I live." She explained.

Kagome's mother nodded. "And what about where to go? Where are you planning on staying. I know it was your choice a few days ago to go be with Inu-Yasha, but now that this has occurred, I'm worried that the feudal era of Japan isn't a good environment for an infant. Perhaps you should stay here with me and I'll take care of you and the baby until the child's older." She offered with a small smile.

Kagome stared at her mother. "Never. I love you mom, and I love grandpa and Souta as well, but I can't…..just leave Inu-Yasha. I'm packing my things and only taking what will be needed. The well will always be open, so I can come and visit you and the family from time to time, but…..I believe my place is there. The warring states era is a wonderful place if you ever saw it, and I'm capable of living there. I have been traveling and fighting there for almost 3 years now mom, of course coming back for school and such…but this is different. I will live there now. There's…..only one way I will stay here with you." She paused.

Kagome's mom nodded. "Yes? What?"

Kagome could feel fear enter her vanes as she remembered what she had thought about the night before. That if Inu-Yasha didn't want the child…then she would have to stay in her time and leave him be. Not bother him with silly things as fatherhood.

She looked back to her mom. "I will go and take my things. I will seek out Inu-Yasha, and…..tell him the news. If he excepts….then I'll stay with him and not come back here for a while, but….if he……doesn't want the child….then…..I…….will come back and not return again to the warring states era. I don't want to bother him. He is young, not as young as I, but he's still a teenager like me. If he doesn't care to be a father, then I won't force him, but I'm going to be this child's mother. I swear it." She finished.

Her mom nodded and patted her shoulder. "Kagome……you are wise. Perhaps you _were _using your head when you made that choice, whenever that was, to be with Inu-Yasha. I respect your decision. I will be behind you the whole way. I'm always here, and I'll always love you, my daughter."

Kagome smiled weakly and hugged her mom before leaving the room to pack her bag.

~1 hour later~

It wasn't an awfully long time before Kagome stood beside the well house with her mom, grandpa, and Souta.

She bowed to them gently.

"I love and will never forget you all. Please, take care, and try not to grow up too fast, Souta. Never forget me." She stated to her brother.

Souta nodded. He had no idea why Kagome was leaving, but he knew he shouldn't ask at that time.

Kagome turned to her grandpa. "And gramps, stay healthy and try not to over do yourself every time you clean out the shrine houses, alright?" She explained with a giggle.

Her grandpa was at the verge of tears. He didn't know why either that Kagome was leaving, but he knew he was sad about it.

Kagome finally looked upon her mother. "Mom………thank you…for…..for being there…and trusting me. I know I'm young….but…..I know where I'm headed. I want to live my life the way I planned it all along. I will never change my mind about anything. I'll always love you though. Forever." She stated.

Her mom nodded and hugged her daughter. "I will miss you. Come and visit. And I'll explain things to the rest of the family later on. I love you……Kagome."

A tear ran down her cheek, but Kagome shook her head. 

"Don't cry, mom. I'm only a jump through the well away! I promise! I'll bring the _you know what _when it comes for you to see soon."

Her mom nodded again and wiped the tear away from her skin.

"Good-bye…..and good luck."

Kagome smiled and turned to the well house.

She took a deep breath and opened the sliding doors to it.

She turned back at her family and nodded once more before walking in and closing the doors behind her.

The three stared at the well house and saw a bright light, then it dimmed and all was still again.

Kagome's mom smiled a sad, yet happy smile.

"NOW!!!!!! What's going on here!!!!!!????????" Both grandpa and Souta screeched to Kagome's mom after a moment.

"Okay……I'll explain everything over some tea. Come on inside." She stated.

As they walked away from the well house, Kagome's mom looked back at it and smiled again as the wind hit her skirt and hair.

"I will see you again, my daughter." She whispered before sighing and following the other nagging two inside the house.

~In the warring states era~

Kagome softly landed on the well's floor again, now smelling the sweet air of autumn in the feudal era.

She sucked in some air and let it out, then climbed to the top of the well slowly.

When she reached the top, and sat on the edge of it and stared to the ground.

*What will I say to Inu-Yasha when I find him? I can't very well just walk up to him, smile, and say I'm expecting like it's no big deal at all!!* She stated in thought.

She sighed again, and stood up.

She began to slowly take her time walking down a path towards Kaede's village.

*I know I'll feel comfortable talking this over with Kaede or Sango, but…..I'm just so afraid…..what Inu-Yasha's reaction will be!!!* She exclaimed to herself in mind.

*I bet he'll hate me. He'll say it's all my fault and send me away. He'll never want to speak to me or see my face again!!! He'll probably even slap me and take back all he said about loving me.*

As she thought this, tears cornered her eyes, and fell to the ground.

The fear she had felt when she first found out she was with child was returning, and she felt so horrible.

She sat down on a rock near the path and sobbed.

The autumn sun fell over her, as she cried in her own arms.

Leaves fell to the ground softly beside her feet, but she didn't notice.

Soon, the minutes wasted on that rock turned into an hour, and she just couldn't move!

"I……I don't want to be alone though. I'm…afraid to be alone. I can't do this without him. I….can't. I can pull through anything with him by my side, and I can concur any fears I have, but…if he turns me down…then….I'll have no one. No one………….." She cried gently to herself in whispers of worry and fright.

Slowly, but surly, a shadow came over her as the sun set far over the mountains.

She didn't see it, but it saw her.

He frowned sadly.

"Kagome?" He stated.

Kagome suddenly looked up with fear in her eyes.

She lifted her eyes to see the form whom she had feared to face this whole time.

"Inu-Yasha…….." She whispered.

Inu-Yasha gave her a puzzled expression.

"K…Kagome? What's wrong? Why are yah crying? Are you feeling better? Kaede told me a few days ago that you had gone home for a while, so I decided to just wait and not bother you……um…..what's' the matter?" He tried to sound happy, but the look Kagome gave him with unbearable to even look at without frowning.

"Kagome?" He questioned again.

Kagome just stared at him as another tear fell down her cheek, softly hitting the ground after a second.

She finally stood up, feeling a bit wobbly, but managing to find her footing, walked up to him.

About half way there though, she started gasping quickly through her sobs, and she cried softly to herself.

Her legs trembled and she wanted to just run away.

After another second, her cries became a bit louder, like small whimpers that could be heard. She gasped a few times more and couldn't move another inch closer to him.

Inu-Yasha saw her expression and practically died.

"What?! What is it, Kagome!!!?? Please, tell me!!! Talk to me, Kagome!!! Please……." He pleaded to her as he stepped forward and took her into his arms.

"I----don't---want---to---be--a---a---alone." She grasped as she cried a bit harder.

Inu-Yasha didn't know what to think. "You'll never be alone, Kagome! I'm here with you! Forever! What's wrong, Kagome? There has to be a reason why you're acting like this." He explained in a loving tone.

Kagome buried her face on his chest.

"I love you, Inu-Yasha…………" She whispered.

Inu-Yasha smiled weakly. "I know you do, Kagome. I love you too. So much. So so much. You have no idea how much…………..tell me what's wrong." He whispered the last words in a kind and wise tone.

She somehow knew that she had to tell him. He had to know.

She took one more second to take in his smell and listen to him breathe, before taking in some air, letting it out, and calming herself down.

She backed away from Inu-Yasha and forced herself to look into his eyes.

"Inu……Yasha?" She began.

He stared.

"I….I…have…something to…tell you." She stuttered onward.

He nodded.

It was so hard, but Kagome went on.

"I….went back to my time…for a few days……just to tell my mom what was going on between us and all……and……I went to the store…and…..I won't go into that……and I came home…and…I……………."

"Kagome? Where's this going? You're not making sense. Just tell me. I won't get upset." Inu-Yasha stated.

The look he saw in Kagome's eyes though said that she was afraid that that was the situation if she told him.

*S…She's scared to death!!?? What's wrong with her???* He questioned in thought to himself.

"Okay…..I'm sorry. I………………I'm………..I found out that I'm…………………….."

"Kagome!!!!!!!!" Inu-Yasha yelled.

"I'M PREGNANT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

She finally screamed it out, and Inu-Yasha's eyes widened.

A still wind blew past the two, sending chills up both their backs.

Kagome fell to her knees and wept into her hands.

At first, Inu-Yasha was speechless. But soon, as if sunk in……he realized it………..

His lips curved into a smile. A pure smile. A smile that no one else could have given.

He fell to his knees and pulled Kagome's hands away from her face.

She looked up at him and was shocked to see his smile gleaming optimistically, yet tears forming at the edges of his eyes.

He took her into his arms and held her so tightly Kagome thought that she could just sink into him forever.

"Kagome……how…..could you think…..that that was a bad thing?" He questioned.

Kagome's eyes widened this time as she listened to his gentle voice.

"Did you think I would hate you? That I would leave you? That I wouldn't want the child?" He asked some more.

Kagome stayed silent.

"Kagome………I………I love you so much. I will take care of you, and you'll never have to worry about anything. I promise. I swear it!! I will hold your hand until the end."

He paused and looked to her face.

"This is so wonderful……smile. I love your smile."

He took her face into his palms and smiled himself down to her.

She didn't know why, but she scarcely gave a weak smile to him, and it didn't stay for long, but it was enough.

"Thank you. Don't ever regret what has happened, Kagome. Never. I know you must be scared but…….."

He took her hand into his and held it and her even tighter.

"I will hold your hand. I will."

~Hi-ness! HURRAY!!! I love this chaptie too!!! ^_^ SMILE!!! Keep on going! Bye Bye!~

~chibikagome1@yahoo.com~


	5. Chapter Four Delicate

~Chapter Four~ ~My Delicate charm, you are like my glass china doll~

~6 Month's Later~

"Kagome? Kagome? Are you awake?"

A voice whispered into Kagome's dreams and her eyes opened with hesitation.

Her eyes met Inu-Yasha's and her hesitation was gone though.

She smiled. "Where am I? What happened?"

Inu-Yasha laughed happily. "I found you! You fell asleep under the God Tree, which is where we're both at right now! You know how worried I've been!?" He exclaimed.

Kagome's grin widened as she sat up with the help of Inu-Yasha.

"What time is it?" She wondered aloud after a moment of silence.

He smiled. "Who cares! It's the afternoon! The suns out! It's a perfect day. I'm giving this day to you." He stated as he leaned against her shoulder with affection.

She let her blushing stop after a second, and fell back against the God Tree named Goshinboku with a sigh.

"How are you feeling today?" Inu-Yasha questioned as he looked up to her face.

She turned to him and smiled. "I'm good. Never better! I'm actually up to doing stuff today! It's so nice and all."

He beamed tenderly.

"How much longer will we have to wait?" He asked some more.

Kagome looked to the tree branches above her head.

"Soon. That's all I know."

Inu-Yasha sat up finally. "Well! Since it's not gonna be today, why don't I take yah somewhere! I want to show you something!" He exclaimed.

Kagome ginned with joy. "REALLY?? Thank god! I'm so sick and tired of sitting around all day! And for once I'm actually feeling up to doing something! Let's go now!"

Inu-Yasha laughed again at Kagome's excitement.

He reached down and helped her to her feet.

Because her middle was as swollen as it could get, it was harder for her to move about, but it didn't matter.

Inu-Yasha was always there to help her. He had been for the 6 months they had spent together.

It had really changed their way of life though! 

Miroku and Shippo went out to collect jewel shards, and Sango stayed behind and lived with Kaede to help out with Kagome, and learn a few things about medicine, which she had always wanted to do.

Ever since Miroku left, she had acted funny, and Inu-Yasha and Kagome both knew that it was because she loved and missed the monk more then anything.

Kagome missed little Shippo as well, but even though she was pregnant, didn't mean that they all had to stop searching for their goal!

Inu-Yasha and Kagome now lived about the village, which they called now their permanent home.

Kaede had been so kind, and had acted like a grandmother to Kagome, and had the village men build her and Inu-Yasha a hut for them to live in and name their own, and a place for their child to grow up in when it arrived.

Kagome got to choose where it was built, and even Inu-Yasha had to agree that it was one of the most beautiful places in the whole village!

Now the days went by in slow, peaceful rhythm.

Every second was perfect to Kagome, and she adored her new home, her new life, and her new friends she had made while meeting all the village women, whom had treated her as if she had grown up there in the first place!

She always smiled, and was always joyful, even on the days she felt sick and had not the strength to get out of bed.

Inu-Yasha cherished every lived moment of it, and finally felt that he belonged, He fit in. He had a life now, and he had found his way home. Kagome was his home.

Kikyo was no longer an alternative to follow in thought in his mind.

He was free.

He was so happy.

He laughed more then anyone had ever heard him before, and he was always filled with pleasure.

This was how he had always wanted it.

He wished he had known what it was like to be like this before, but he recalled being a child in that very village, and he remembered feeling wanted because his mother was there.

Kagome was there now too though. She was there forever.

She was his best friend, his soul mate, and his family.

They were always together….and it felt so wonderful.

"I got yah! Come on!" Inu-Yasha stated as he helped Kagome get her balance on the ground, then held her hand, and began to walk through the woods.

"And just where do you think you two are going?" Questioned Sango as she stepped out from the bushes beside them.

Inu-Yasha jumped back.

"S….Sango!! Um….Uh…..I was taking Kagome….um….to….yeah…..uh………."

"He's taking me somewhere! It's okay that I go, right?" Kagome finished Inu-Yasha's stuttering to add her own words.

Sango glared. "Kagome? What about the baby!!!??? It could be here any day now, and you STILL act as if you aren't even pregnant at all!!!??? What's wrong with you!!!!??? All the expecting woman I've seen sulk around their huts all day and do nothing!!!! You…actually……..what's the word?"

"She lives." Inu-Yasha butted in.

Sango nodded.

"Don't worry so much, Sango! I know it'll be soon, but not today!" Kagome explained.

"But……WHAT IF YOU HAVE IT WHILE YOU'RE OUT OR SOMETHING!!!???" Sango shouted in horror.

"I'll help give birth to it, obviously! It's only natural!" Inu-Yasha stated.

Kagome stared at him.

He turned to her and winked quickly.

She got the message and smiled, turning back to Sango.

Another plan of Inu-Yasha's to get the worrying Sango to hush down a bit.

"Uh…..yeah! Inu-Yasha will help me! It's no big deal!" She nodded.

Sango sighed. "……….fine……..just be back soon!! If you make one mistake Inu-Yasha……I SWEAR I'LL……….Well….I'll let you think about that for yourself."

And with that, Sango walked away huffing mad.

Inu-Yasha was hiding behind Kagome's back until the testy demon slayer was out of sight.

"God! She treats me like I'm a hostage and I _HAVE _to do what she tells me!! It sucks!!" Kagome complained.

Inu-Yasha took her hand again. "She's just trying to be a good some what of an older sister, but I think when she's away from Miroku, it gets to her mind, and she takes things a little too seriously." He explained.

"A little??? That's hardly the word for it!!" Kagome giggled.

Inu-Yasha turned to her and smiled as he began to lead her into the woods.

"Inu-Yasha?" Kagome questioned the silence after about a minute or so.

"Yeah?"

"Do you think……you would really help give birth to the baby if it were to come today while we're out?" She asked.

Inu-Yasha's hand gripped Kagome's a bit harder.

"Of course I would. I would never just leave you. That would be stupid and unloving!!!! But, somehow I can sense when the baby will come, and I know it won't be today, so I'm not worried about anything." He explained.

Kagome nodded. "Oh! I get it now!"

The two walked again without speaking.

It was good to be quiet for a little.

The sun shown brightly down over them, and birds sung their melodies in the tree branches above them.

The far off river's water could be heard rushing, and the warm summer air was refreshing and soft.

Kagome leaned closer to Inu-Yasha, her hand not ever daring to leave his.

She took in his wonderful smell, and let him slowly take her up onto his back, for a ride because she was becoming tired of walking.

It didn't bother him much at all to carry her. It was his job, and he loved it. Taking care of her. He swore he would, and that was precisely what he was going to do.

Another 10 minutes past, and Kagome stared up at the tree branches, letting the sun's beams fall over her face.

Such beauty she thought about, she never noticed at all that Inu-Yasha stared directly at her, enchanted by _HER _beauty.

He smiled and looked ahead of them.

"Ah! Look! We're here!" He stated.

Kagome looked up in front of them and saw a cave.

She blinked. "So…..this is it?" She questioned, a little confused, but not wanting to sound too discouraged.

"NO!!! Stupid girl! I'll show you! We're going _inside_!" He stated with a snort.

"Alright! Sorry……did….I make you……mad?" Kagome stuttered, but just as she was beginning to worry that she had, he pulled her off his back and twirled her around, with care of her to be out of harms way.

"I'm not mad. Come with me inside! There is where the surprise is!" He explained.

Kagome smiled and took his hand as they both walked inside.

It was rather dark, but not dark enough that they couldn't see.

They traveled about 80 feet in, then stopped.

Inu-Yasha pointed ahead of them.

Kagome smiled brightly.

"Wow!! It's so lovely!!!" She exclaimed.

A waterfall ran down from the top of the cave, down to a pool of water.

Kagome walked up to it and stared with admiration.

"It's so beautiful. Look! Tiny jewels of some kind are in the pool of water!!! What are they really?" She questioned as she knelt, or tried to knelt down beside the pool of water.

Inu-Yasha reached down and picked one of the tiny shards of jewel up.

"These are as you say! They are jewels. Stones. They are created here through a natural source, yet it's magical. This water fall is what makes them, then they collect in the pool! Many people don't know about this place, because long ago this cave was said to be cursed, but I sort of did away with that, and came here a few weeks ago to check things out. Sure enough, there was something in here that a person years ago didn't want anybody to find! I call it the nothing cave, because there are so many _somethings _inside of it!" He explained.

Kagome nodded and gazed upon the fragments in awe.

"I wish I could take just one….but they're so delicate I'm afraid to even touch one!!" She stated.

Inu-Yasha smiled and stood up.

He looked up to the cave ceiling, too far up and dark to actually see with eyes, and watched as something fell from the top.

It gleamed in the dim light, and fell into the pool of water that Kagome was still stared into.

She jumped back a bit, and Inu-Yasha helped her up.

"What was that?!" She exclaimed.

Inu-Yasha laughed a bit, and reached into the pool of water.'

He pulled it out and held it behind his back.

Kagome stared. "Inu-Yasha!!! This isn't funny!! What is it?" She asked.

He smiled ever brighter as he stepped closer to her, so near soon that their foreheads touched.

She blushed.

"What?" She asked again.

He took her hand and placed something wet into it.

She looked down and saw a green gem glittering back at her.

She could see her face in it's reflection even, and the texture was so perfect, you would think it was handcrafted just for her!!

Attached to the gem was a gold chain, hanging perfecting like sand through her fingers.

"It's for you………." Inu-Yasha whispered.

Kagome stared at it wish fascination.

"F….for me? B…..But why? I don't deserve anything." She stated.

Inu-Yasha shook his head and took her into his arms.

"That night months ago….under the moon's rainbow…..I swore to myself that I would somehow get you something that you could always have and remember me with…..if I ever somehow was separated from you one day. I knew that you would love these jewels, and I found a jade one…..because jade reminds me of you for some reason. You are trying so hard……hang in there just a little more. I swear I'll protect you and adore you forever. You were the greatest thing to ever happen to me. I was always left behind, or betrayed, but you were always by my side. Thank you….Kagome. I love you so much."

His whispers were gentle and his grasp as well.

"Inu-Yasha……You didn't have to get me anything. I know we never will, but if we were separated again through time and fate, I wouldn't need a gem to be reminded of you. You're memory is an image locked away forever in my heart. I could never lose that, because my heart is what no one can touch or reach except you." She explained in a tender and wise voice.

Inu-Yasha beamed. "Keep it all the same. I want you to have it."

Kagome looked down to it and smiled.

"I have a better idea."

She then took her pointing finger and thumb, and broke the jewel in two.

She opened up Inu-Yasha's hand and placed one piece into his palm, then the other into her own.

"This way we can both know that this gift was for both of us. Sorry I broke it though." She confessed.

Inu-Yasha shook his head.

"No biggy! That's alright. I agree with you on this one."

Kagome nodded and the two of them put the pieces into the pockets of their kimonos.

For a moment, all was silent.

The running water fall calmed both their hearts, so they stood and listened.

Kagome let everything soak in around her, then looked up to Inu-Yasha.

"Here." She said softly as she took his hand and placed it over her swollen middle.

They stood again for a moment, then he smiled.

"It's kicking." He whispered.

Kagome nodded.

"I think it'll be any day now. I need to get some rest. Let's head home. I want to tie this gem around my neck anyway!" She explained with a beam.

Inu-Yasha took the chain, tied her gem around her neck and placed his hand over her cheek.

"You don't have to wait until we get home. You can where it now. You look so beautiful in it. Like an angel." He stated.

Kagome blushed as he took her up onto his back and out into the bright sunlight.

Kagome rested her head on Inu-Yasha's shoulder as he walked in soft steps back to the village, the two gems near one another, their holders heart in heart.

~Hurray! This is so much fun! HeHe! Go on and read more more more!!! It's getting better by the second!!!~

~chibikagome1@yahoo.com~


	6. Chapter Five I'll stay by your side

~Chapter Five~ ~I'll stay by your side~

~One Week Later~

"So, Kagome? How are you feeling?" Questioned Sango as she hung clothes and cleaning rags over a line outside Kaede's hut.

Kagome smiled. "I'm okay, today. I told Inu-Yasha to get out of the hut for a while and check out if Miroku and Shippo are near by! He said he didn't want to leave, but he wouldn't tell me why. I insisted he go all the same, and now I'm spending the afternoon with you!" 

Sango nodded. "Well, I'm glad you're feeling good these past few days. Ever since you went off with Inu-Yasha a week ago, you seem rather energetic."

Kagome blushed. "See." She held up the gem from her neck.

"This is what Inu-Yasha gave me when we were out there. I can't say exactly where, but isn't it just lovely?!" She exclaimed.

Sango stared at it in the sunlight and gasped. "It's……breathtaking!! Where ever did he get the yin to buy it!!???" She quivered.

Kagome shook her head. "He didn't buy it. He found it. It was a lot bigger, but I spilt the whole thing in two so we could both have a piece. He has the other half."

"It's just so radiant!! Are you sure you don't know where he found it at?" Sango questioned as she stared at the gem some more.

Kagome giggled. "Sango! Don't be forcing me to tell! You'd have to ask Inu-Yasha that question! I'm sworn to secrecy!" 

Sango sighed and looked to the ground as she sat down beside Kagome.

"What's wrong with you these days? You seem so……"

"Out of it?" Sango finished Kagome's sentence.

Kagome nodded.

Sango sighed once more before explaining.

"Well……I didn't realize….how much I really was happy when I was around Miroku until he left. He was so funny, and although he got on my nerves at times, he was my laughter. I miss him. When……will he come back you think?" She asked.

Kagome placed her hand on Sango's shoulder. "He'll be back real soon. Don't worry about it! I bet he'll come walking up to you on a day unexpectedly, and make you laugh again."

Sango wanted to cry.

"Sango? Do……you love Miroku?" Kagome questioned with one breath on her voice.

Sango was silent.

She looked to the ground then, her fists tightening around her kimono dress.

"………yes……….I always have." Was her answer.

Kagome smiled.

"I thought so. Don't worry. He's not far away. If you keep looking up, he's certain to find your smile again. He's only going to be gone for a little anyway. Cheer up! I promise he'll be back."

Sango looked to her friend's eyes.

"You've become rather wise, Kagome. Thank you. But I forget that you will be a mother soon. I can't wait." She beamed.

Kagome nodded.

Silence.

"Well! Let's finish the laundry here and go down to the cook house for some lunch!" Kagome stated as she pushed herself up off the log the two were sitting on, and reached out her hand for Sango.

Sango smiled as well and took Kagome's hand gently.

Before, when they were on the journey to find the jewel shards of the jewel of four souls, they had been friends, but never as close as they were now.

They were like _BEST _friends.

Kagome thought of Sango as he true "girl" best friend, for Inu-Yasha was her best friend as a boy.

But of course, no matter how close Kagome and Sango got, Kagome would always consider Inu-Yasha her ultimate best friend.

It was just a thing.

Sango and Kagome quickly finished hanging the laundry to dry in the summer sun, becoming ever hotter, and hurried down into the village towards the cook house, to eat, and chat with other friends who might be there.

~Later that evening~

"Okay. I guess I'll see you tomorrow! We should go out and pick berries with Kaede or something! Inu-Yasha can come if he wants." Sango stated as both her and Kagome stood in front of Kagome's hut.

"Yeah! That'll be fun, but I think we both know better that Inu-Yasha won't want to come! He'd be more likely to look for flying pigs rather then to go berry picking!!" She explained.

Sango nodded, smiled a weak smile, bowed, and walked away.

Kagome waved after her friend and turned to head into the hut.

The moment she stepped into the door, a pain entered her stomach.

She stopped for a moment, fearful of what it might mean, but then it stopped, and she sighed in relief.

*That was too close! As a matter of fact, that was the first time this has happened to me!!!* She thought in worry.

She looked down at her middle and swallowed hard.

After another moment, she stepped inside and let the thought pass her mind.

It was probably nothing.

~An Hour Later~

Inu-Yasha yawned as he opened the sliding door to the hut and walked in, collapsing on the floor, most likely exhausted.

"So there you are! I was beginning to worry." Kagome stated with a tired grin.

Inu-Yasha sat up and smiled at her.

"Well? What did you do while you were out? By that smirk on your face, I'd say you're overly happy!" Kagome stated.

Inu-Yasha went over and sat beside Kagome on the floor.

"Well, I probably went over 5 hills into the north, and who would you guess to be there, but the good old monk and the fox demon Shippo themselves!"

Kagome's eyes widened. "Are you serious!!!! Cool! Were they headed this way?" She asked.

He nodded. "Yep! They said they'd most likely be here by about noon tomorrow! I was too fast for them I guess!" 

Kagome smiled again, still looking not herself.

Inu-Yasha stared. "Kagome? What's wrong?" He asked in a loving way.

Kagome looked to the ground, remembering the pain she had received about an hour before he had arrived.

*Should I tell him? Or….should I just pass it by. It could have been simply my mind playing tricks on me!!* He explained in thought.

She looked up and shook her head. "Nothing. It's nothing!"

Inu-Yasha gave her a look she just died over when she saw it. It was one of worry and love at the same time, added with a little of his own expression.

"Are you sure? You can tell me anything, Kagome." He said in a tender tone.

Kagome shook her head, saddened that she was lying, but relieved that she could get off the hook easily.

"Don't pay attention to me! I'm just tired! I think I'll go to sleep early tonight." She stated.

Inu-Yasha stared.

"Oh yeah! Um……Sango made this really great stew that I think you should try! There's some left over at Kaede's hut if you're hungry! I'm just too tired to cook." She explained.

Inu-Yasha stared again for a moment, then finally nodded.

"Right…..I think I'll go get some a tell her the good news about Miroku." 

"Uh No! Why don't we make it a surprise. I found out about her feelings for him today, and it would be so exciting if she didn't know he was coming, and he suddenly just showed up! Don't you think so?" She asked.

Inu-Yasha nodded and got close to Kagome.

"I….want you to get to sleep soon, though. I know it's early still but…..I'm just………" He paused.

Kagome blinked. "You're just what?"

Inu-Yasha shook his head. "No! Never mind. Just get some rest. I'll be back in a bit."

And with that, he stood up and walked out of the hut, into the warm, still quite light evening.

Kagome sighed. *Why am I so worried about it anyway? It was probably just me. Besides, if it's really happening, then I would have had more of those pains, which I haven't.* She told herself in thought.

Just as soon as that thought left her mind though, she moved a bit and the pain returned, this time a bit worse then last.

She froze in her spot.

It finally stopped after about 5 long minutes, and she was now shaking.

*Inu-Yasha……I should I told you……..please…..come home soon.*

She thought this as she laid down into the large futon that her and Inu-Yasha both slept in in the middle of the hut.

She let herself breathe in and out slowly, to calm herself, then she tried to sleep.

Not one single dream dared enter her mind though. 

She was too shook up.

She was scared.

~Later that night~

Inu-Yasha quietly entered the hut with caution not to wake Kagome.

He had been out a little longer then expected, for Sango and Kaede wanted him to eat with them.

He hadn't said a word to Sango about Miroku's soon arrival, as he swore he wouldn't, but he could hide it from Kaede.

The old priestess was just as excited as they all were, and she promised not to tell another soul, especially Sango.

Now he was beat, and wanted to get some rest.

It was dark, so he lighted a candle across the room from Kagome.

He peered over at her and smiled when he saw her sleeping face.

He quickly took off his top red kimono, keeping on the white top, and the rest of his kimono on. For some reason, no matter how hot it got during the daytime of summer, it was always colder in the night.

The full moon came out slowly, and Inu-Yasha blew out the candle and laid himself in the futon next to Kagome, letting the moonlight fall over both their faces, making the world not so scary at night.

Kagome had her back turned to him, and he cuddled up next to it gently. This way she could know he was there, and he could feel her heart beats.

He opened his eyes after about 10 minutes though, noticing that Kagome's heart beats were faster then usual.

Kagome was in truth awake, not able to find sleep.

She opened her eyes and stared at the wall across from her, feeling Inu-Yasha beside her.

She smiled weakly.

Relief poured through her when his arms wrapped around her.

She noticed though that his left hand went to lay on her heart.

*Does he know I'm…..afraid?* She asked herself in mind.

"Kagome….." He suddenly whispered softly.

"…….yes?" She replied.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

Kagome's eyes widened.

He knew her so well he could even sense her upset!

"I'm sorry, Inu-Yasha……I forced myself not to say anything before you left for Kaede's……when I should have." She explained.

He blinked.

"……What……is it?"

Kagome trembled.

"I………"

She turned around and faced Inu-Yasha's eyes, right beside hers.

"I'm so scared!!!" She cried softly.

He leaned closer to her and their foreheads touched.

"Why? There's nothing to be scared of. I'm here with you. I'll stay by your side until this is over….I swear it. Was that all you wanted to say to me before I left?" He asked.

Kagome looked away from his gaze, but it was too hard to overcome it.

"Ever since I got home from being out with Sango…..I've….been having these pains….and I'm worried now." She stuttered.

Inu-Yasha stared. "Well….maybe you're just having cramps or something. It's not like there's anything wrong." 

"I know that! I never said I was afraid about that…..I'm just…….afraid of…….giving birth………" She stated.

Inu-Yasha's one arm around her tightened as his other hand went up and brushed away some hair.

His touch was so gentle and tender.

Not once had he ever hurt her, and she knew he never would. 

She was safe forever with him. 

"There's no need to be afraid. I guess I shouldn't say so though because I'm not the one having the child….but…..I'm just as excited as you are. You will do fine, and I'll make sure of it. Don't be afraid. I'm right here. Remember……that I'll hold your hand until the end." He said softly, as his eyes began to close.

Kagome smiled. 

It was amazing to think that Inu-Yasha's words could change her mood in an instant.

"Go to sleep, Inu-Yasha." She whispered.

He let her take him into her arms, holding him close to her so that nothing was wrong anymore.

Soon, Inu-Yasha feel into slumber, and Kagome laid there and ran her fingers through his long white hair, which turned silver in the moonlight.

She took a deep breath and let it out.

"I'll hold your hand until the end………" She whispered into his ear.

~12:00 a.m., later that night~

Kagome and Inu-Yasha both slept in one another's arms as time went by slowly.

One could almost hear the seconds going by as a suddenly unbearable pain entered Kagome's stomach and tore through her sleep.

Her eyes shot open.

She laid still for a moment and pushed away from Inu-Yasha gradually.

*Don't lose your mind, Kagome!!! Don't lose it!! It's just another short pain!! Nothing big!! Don't worry!!* She screamed at herself in thought.

But again it happened, and this time even more painful. And the worst part about it this time was, it wouldn't stop.

Kagome looked to Inu-Yasha's sleeping face.

She found his hand and squeezed it tightly.

"Inu-Yasha………." She said this softly, but loud enough that he could hear.

He opened his eyes slowly and met her terrified gaze.

With in one second, he realized what was happening, and his eyes widened.

He sat up and stared down at her.

"The real thing?" He asked in a shaky voice.

Kagome nodded as she began to breathe deeply and quickly.

Inu-Yasha stood and kneeled down to her side.

"I'll be back. I swear I will. I need to go get Kaede, Sango, and the village nurse."

He took her hand and kissed it gently.

Kagome nodded.

"Promise you'll be back……and you'll stay with me!?" She asked him in a trembling voice.

Inu-Yasha nodded and smiled, kissing her hand one last time before standing up.

Their hands slipped away from the others slowly, finger by finger, then Inu-Yasha charged out of the hut door with raging speed.

Kagome's hand still stayed held up in the air for a while, then it fell to her side.

She placed her hand over her middle and continued to breathe harshly.

She tried to get her mind off the pain, but it wouldn't stop, not even for a second.

There was one thing though that she could do to keep her will to go on.

"…..Inu-Yasha…….." She cried softly to the room.

~Hi!! YAY!!! Ohhhh!!! Kagome!!! Must write more!!! Continue on please! Exciting isn't it!!!!!~

~chibikagome1@yahoo.com~


	7. Chapter Six Carried away by a moonlight ...

~Chapter Six~ ~Carried away by a moonlight shadow~

Inu-Yasha ran as fast as his legs would carry him up to Kaede's hut door.

He pounded on it with much force.

Sango was the one to open it and stare out at him in a dozy way.

"Inu-Yasha? It's the middle of the night! What is it?" She asked, not thinking straight at all.

Inu-Yasha didn't have time to explain, only brifiely.

"SANGO!!!! WAKE YOURSELF UP!!!! KAGOME'S GONNA HAVE THE BABY ANY MOMENT!!!! YOU GOTTA HELP HER!!! WAKE UP KAEDE!!!! I HAVE TO GO FIN THE NURSE!!!!" He screamed, and with that, ran off to find the nurse.

Sango stood for a minute, then blinked, and rushed to get Kaede, collect some things, and be out of the hut in a hurry.

The two women ran down the path of the village towards Kagome and Inu-Yasha's hut.

They literally fell into the hut as they plowed through the doorway.

"KAGOME!!!!" Sango exclaimed as she ran over to her friend's side.

"Oh, Kagome!!! You'll be fine!! Don't worry! We're all gonna be here for you!" She stated.

Kagome opened her eyes and spoke. "Where…….is Inu-Yasha?" She breathed out with a bit of struggle.

Sango nodded. "Don't worry. He went to get the nurse. He'll be here soon."

Kaede walked over and placed a wet cloth over Kagome's forehead.

"Poor dear. She's in the beginning of labor. I don't know how long it'll take, but others I've witnessed have taken up to 16 hours!" She explained with worry.

Sango was even more fearful for her friend now.

"Oh……Kagome. I pray it won't take that long for her."

Suddenly, Inu-Yasha jumped through the doorway, the familiar nurse upon his back, and her bag filled with medical remedies.

Kagome looked over and met Inu-Yasha's worried gaze.

"Inu-Yasha? What will you do? Most men wait outside while their wives are in labor, but I suppose it could be a little different with you. You gotta make your decision fast though! Make it now, Inu-Yasha!!" The nurse explained in a quick way.

Inu-Yasha stared to the nurse, and then to the others.

Finally, he found Kagome's eyes. Her deep brown eyes, seeing tears slowly appearing on the rims of them.

A drop of sweat fell down her cheek, and she reached out her hand to him.

"Please……..don't leave me………" She whispered in a trembling voice.

He could feel his own tears riming now.

How could he even consider leaving her?

He turned back to the nurse.

"I'm staying." Were his only words.

The nurse nodded.

"Very well then. You can sit with her and comfort her."

She then turned to Sango.

"You can help by gathering wet clothes, making sure there is enough water, and handing me things I may need."

Finally Kaede was next.

"You can help by bringing any medicines from your hut that may become useful at any time. I thank you all for your aid. I will help give birth to the child….when the time comes."

She looked to Kagome.

"I'm going to ask all of you to step out for just a second though. I need to find out how long this will take."

Sango and Kaede nodded immediately, and walked out, but Inu-Yasha hesitated.

The nurse placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry. It's only for a few minutes."

He nodded, but looked serious.

"I will leave this once….but I refuse to leave any other times you wish."

The nurse stared.

"Right. I will make sure that you will stay by her side through this whole thing. I'll come and fetch you when you can come back in again." She explained.

Inu-Yasha blinked, and looked to Kagome's face.

"Y…..You're leaving me?" She asked.

Inu-Yasha shook his head. "Not for long. I'll be back."

Kagome turned her head from him.

For so much pain running through her, she could still feel the affection he sensed for her.

Inu-Yasha left the room and all fell silent.

"Nurse?………How long will……it take?" Kagome questioned after a moment.

The nurse looked up at her.

"By the looks of things….I will not say. I'm going for Inu-Yasha…okay?"

Kagome nodded, although she wanted to know how long she would have to suffer.

~Outside the hut~

Sango and Kaede talked quietly as they sat around a small fire in the pit outside.

Inu-Yasha stood leaning against the wall of the hut, worried and nervous.

The nurse appeared a moment later with a sad filled expression.

"Inu-Yasha?" She began.

He looked up to her.

"I looked her over….and it seems that she'll be in labor for more then 4 hours. It is the waiting that's the hardest, for it is extremely painful and agonizing. I can not do much for her during this time….and so I rely on you, Inu-Yasha, to comfort her and keep her cool. Keep her company through these hard hours. I know you're the only one that can do such a thing." She explained.

Inu-Yasha nodded, knowing that what she spoke of was the truth. 

The only thing that could make Kagome calmer was him.

He had sworn that he would stay by her side, and so he went into the hut, the nurse staying outside with Sango and Kaede to talk and simply wait.

~Inside the Hut~

Inu-Yasha stared over at Kagome.

A thin blanket lay over her, so that she wouldn't get too hot, and yet not too cold either. Her whole body was sweating, and all she could do was breathe deeply and try to look through the pain, although it was impossible.

Inu-Yasha could almost feel her pain, and walked over to her side in a quick way.

"Hey there………" He whispered in a tender tone.

Kagome opened her hardly shut eyes and stared up at him.

"Inu-Yasha……it hurts so much……make it go away……..please……." She sobbed.

Inu-Yasha shook his head.

"I……I wish I could…..but you gotta get through this. You gotta stay strong….for me."

Kagome looked up into his eyes.

She stared for a long time before closing her eyes in pain again and clutching her teeth.

After a moment, she opened her eyes yet again, and stared up at him once more.

"Inu-Yasha………I……." She began as she lifted her shaky hand.

"I will…..go on…….please…..hold my hand………" She got out.

Inu-Yasha felt tears forming in his eyes as he fell to his knees and took her hand.

It seemed like slow motion as their fingers laced together and tightened.

He kissed her hand gently, then kissed her forehead, wiping away the sweat with his hand and pushing back her bangs.

"I'm right here now….and I'm not leaving your side. Just think about how wonderful and happy it will be to have our child born into this world. I can't wait……to be a father. I know you can't wait to be a mother. We will raise our child and live life to the fullest….together. You just have to hang onto my hand and get through this one part. The pain will be gone soon. I promise. Bring our child into this world though……..I believe in you. You're my best friend, my home, and my lover. I won't let you give up. I never have and I never will. I love you too damn much." He said this and tears fell down his cheeks.

"Why….do you cry?" She asked as she watched his tears fall to her face.

"I….I hate it that you're suffering……I hate it. I never want you to hurt. Never. I'd rather die then watch you in so much pain." He explained as he kissed her hand yet again, this time with much more carefulness.

Kagome smiled, though very weakly.

"I will be fine. I'm just telling you how I feel, which is really bad at the moment. This is something as normal as breathing to any being whom to which is a woman. I promise I'll hold on for you. It hurts……it's so painful….but…..I will get through this, if you help me."

He smiled down to her and nodded, placing her hand on his cheek and nuzzling it gently.

In time, he was laying next to her, holding her hand tightly with his right hand, and placing his left hand over her swollen middle.

She breathed in and out harshly, and she gripped his kimono with her fists in reaction to the throbbing and aching, but she stuck with it, and wouldn't give up, no matter how long she would be in labor.

She did this all for Inu-Yasha.

~4 and a half hours later starting from midnight and going to 4:30 a.m.~

Inu-Yasha laid his head upon Kagome's and whispered loving words to her.

Most things she couldn't understand because the pain had gotten to her and she couldn't think or speak or even hear correctly.

But just listening and knowing the gentle sounds she could hear, she could see through it all and know that Inu-Yasha was there, still holding her hand tightly, not intending on letting go.

It wasn't until the pain increased even more, harsher then it had ever come!!

She began to cry out and moan and Inu-Yasha called for the nurse quickly.

The nurse ran in, followed by Sango and Kaede.

They were all worried, but the nurse shook her head.

"There's no need for fret here. The girl is fine. She will survive this. It's almost time to deliver, that's all." She explained.

Inu-Yasha scowled at her. "I'm sorry…..BUT HOW CAN YOU BE SO DAMN CALM WHEN KAGOME'S IN SO MUCH PAIN!!!!?????" He screamed.

Kagome's grip on his kimono tightened and he looked down to her.

"D…..don't…..yell…..Inu-Yasha……..just…..let her do her job." She got out.

Inu-Yasha nodded and looked up to the nurse.

"I'm sorry. Seriously. I'm just over reacting. Please….just help her."

The nurse smiled at Inu-Yasha. "Don't worry. Everything will be fine. I promise. Now….let us begin, shall we."

She turned to Sango and Kaede and they nodded.

The delivery took place very quickly to the nurse, Sango, and Kaede, but to Inu-Yasha and Kagome is took hours!!

All Inu-Yasha could do was hold Kagome's hand and whisper loving words, as he had been doing that whole night.

Kagome screamed and moaned and breathed out so heavily she almost lost consciousness, but when she felt Inu-Yasha's hand in hers again tighten, she took the pain and agony and continued on.

Her hand was literally holding onto Inu-Yasha's hand so hard it hurt him, but he didn't care.

One last whisper and scream and push and grasp on a lovers hand.

And just as the full moon was shadowed, a baby was born into the arms of the nurse.

It all took place so quickly then.

The nurse, Sango, and Kaede rushed out of the room with the baby, the nurse yelling to Inu-Yasha for him to stay and take care of Kagome while they went to clean and wrap the little one.

Inu-Yasha wiped down Kagome's wet body with a cool rag, and pulled a blanket over her.

He kissed her forehead and looked down at their hands, folded together and red from the squeezing.

He kissed her hand too then and slowly let go of it, setting it down by her body.

"It's over." He began to whisper into her ear.

"It's okay now, Kagome. There's no more pain. Sleep. Rest. I will be near you, and I swear I won't go far." He explained as he nudged her cheek with his gently.

Kagome wanted badly to see her new born, but couldn't stay awake. She was took weak to even respond to Inu-Yasha's sweet sentence, and she fell unconscious as the moon fell out of the darkness of the shadow and back into light again.

~15 minutes Later~

Inu-Yasha stood outside of the hut, looking at his red hand, which had begun to throb. He didn't give mind to it though. 

He waited patiently for one of the others to bring him the bundle so wished to meet.

Foot steps could be heard for a moment, then they stopped.

The scent of Sango filled the air.

"Inu-Yasha….." She said this with a high-spirited voice.

He looked up and turned her way.

There stood his good friend Sango, of course, with a bundle wrapped in her arms.

She smiled warmly.

As she walked towards him, ever so slightly, he felt himself growing excited and eager.

Sango looked up at him and her smile grew.

"Congratulations………my dear friend Inu-Yasha……..you have…….a daughter."

She handed him the bundle and he took it and held it as if it had come natural.

Sango bowed and turned, walking away, turning back just one other time to smile once again.

She wanted to stay, but she knew this was a time that had to be for Inu-Yasha and Kagome only.

Inu-Yasha stared down and pulled back the blanket in his arms to reveal the child sleeping quietly warm and snug.

When his eyes lay upon the newborn, he almost lost his breathe through the emotion he felt.

He had been carried away by a being he never thought could exist.

He immediately loved the child more then anything he had ever loved in such a manner.

He always knew he would forever and eternally love Kagome as his lover, his best friend, and his home, but this love…..was much different.

He loved this child this way, because he was her father. He was a father.

He had a daughter.

A tear ran down his cheek. 

A tear of happiness.

"My daughter……god……look at you……..you are one of the most enchanting things on this earth. What did I do to deserve such a wonderful and beautiful gift that Kagome has given me? What?" He whispered to the child.

He looked to the hut door and smiled.

He looked back down to his baby.

"Come on….I want you to meet your mother."

The child was fast asleep, but somehow knew.

Inu-Yasha stepped through the door of the hut and closed it softly, knowing that after sunrise, which would only be in a mere 30 minutes, his whole life would change forever, but not in a bad way, but a wonderful way.

~OHHHHH!!!!!! I love my story so far!! Keep reading reader!! ^.~ I have plans for all of you!!!!! HeHe!~

~chibikagome1@yahoo.com~


	8. Chapter Seven Perfect

~Chapter Seven~ ~Perfect~

Inu-Yasha stood for a moment inside the hut, staring over at his lover, whom was asleep and looking much better then in her earlier condition.

The nurse had cleaned everything up when she had returned and had replaced the quilts with new, fresh ones, and made sure Kagome was comfortable and out of pain.

Inu-Yasha smiled as he stepped closer.

When he finally reached Kagome's side, he knelt down and kissed her cheek gently.

The child in his arms moved a bit, but stayed well deep in slumber.

"……Kagome……" Inu-Yasha whispered as he pushed back her bangs.

It only took a few seconds before she came around, despite her need to sleep, and looked up at Inu-Yasha.

"Inu-Yasha…." She began to speak immediately.

"What happened? Was the baby born? Is it okay?" She questioned in a weak voice.

Inu-Yasha smiled and leaned closer to her.

"…..You tell me….." He stated.

Kagome stared up at him and he knew to help her sit up straight on her pillows.

Once she had made herself comfortable, she looked back to Inu-Yasha.

She knew what would happen next.

He handed her the bundle she knew already was her own.

She took it into her arms just as well as Inu-Yasha had first done, and looked down at the child sleeping soundly.

She lost herself in the power that filled her senses.

"Oh……." Was all she could say as tears fell from her eyes. Such happy tears.

"So this is what I slaved over?" She laughed a bit as she stared down to the child in marvel.

Inu-Yasha laid his head on her shoulder and gazed down at the infant as well.

"What was it?" Kagome asked.

"A girl." Inu-Yasha replied.

Kagome's heart filled with joy at this.

"Are you happy with that? Or did you wish for a boy?" She questioned.

Inu-Yasha smiled. "To tell you the truth, I think I really didn't care, as long as it was our child, a thing that I believe everyone wants, but are only so lucky if they get one."

Kagome nodded.

"Isn't she the most mystical being you've ever seen?" He asked.

Kagome giggled. "Yes. She's beautiful."

Kagome laid her head down onto Inu-Yasha head, as he lay on her shoulder, simply stared down at their newborn.

"Thank you, Kagome…." Inu-Yasha stated after a moment.

"And for what?" She questioned.

He looked up into her eyes.

"For giving me such a gift that I don't deserve at all."

Kagome shook her head. "You deserve this more then anyone. To be a parent is a joy. A thing that no one really knows about until they have a child themselves."

"But….how could…..how……." Inu-Yasha stuttered at the fact he knew not why the child was his. Why he had been so blessed.

"Hey. We both did this. We both created her." Kagome told him.

He smiled.

Just as a beam of sunlight peered into the room, the child slowly opened her eyes for the first time in front of her parents.

Immediately, Kagome and Inu-Yasha were breath taken at what stared back at them.

The infants eyes were the mixture color of gold and brown.

"Such beauty….." Inu-Yasha whispered.

"What I don't understand, Kagome, is how _we _created something so….flawless. Something so perfect that neither one of us could look at her and be taken and carried away with one smile." Inu-Yasha went on to say.

Kagome smiled at her daughter. "I don't know either…….but I don'ts care. I love her." 

She then held her child with care and warmth.

Inu-Yasha smiled at them.

He had truly been blessed. Given a second chance at being something he never thought was possible. A father. A lover. A protector.

He loved Kagome more then anything. And he loved his daughter more then anything.

As of that moment as he gazed down at the small child and smiled, it seemed to look back up at him, and smile back in her own way.

"Let's see……I see me in there a lot, but I see you as well, Inu-Yasha. Which one of us do you think she truly resembles?" Kagome stated.

Inu-Yasha looked down at the baby and stared for a moment. 

In such soft sunlight, he saw nothing more then Kagome in his daughter's face.

"You." He said simply. "I see you, Kagome. But she has differences from both of us. I'm sure she'll be her own separate individual, as everyone is."

Kagome nodded.

"That reminds me, Inu-Yasha! We haven't given her a name yet! I can't believe she's gone without a name for this long! We can't wait any longer!!"

Inu-Yasha suddenly remember such a thing as well.

"Yeah. I guess we sorta forgot, huh?" 

He, again, looked down to the child and gave her a good long look over.

"I really don't know what to name her. Do you have anything in mind?" He asked.

Kagome laughed. "But….I want you to name her! I've done _ALL _the work so far! Your turn!!"

Inu-Yasha sighed.

"I want a name that means something grand. Grand and beautiful. Just as she is!"

He thought a whole longer then.

Finally, it clicked.

"I remember when she was born, the moon's shadow was overhead, and I thought immediately of a name with beauty and grace. I'm not sure why, but that name sounds so perfect for her." Inu-Yasha explained.

"So what is this name that's so grand?" Kagome questioned.

Inu-Yasha took the baby from Kagome's arms with care and held her gently.

"I will name her, Karu."

"Karu." Kagome repeated Inu-Yasha as she thought about it.

"That's a wonderful name, Inu-Yasha. Karu."

Inu-Yasha smiled and she smiled as well.

They looked down at their infant again.

After a while, Kagome became tired again and fell asleep.

Inu-Yasha took the child and walked around with her.

"My Karu. I hope you like your name. It's what I've named you. You've met your mother and I, and you've already met your auntie Sango, Great Grandma Kaede, and the village nurse. I hope uncle Miroku and Shippo will get here soon so you can meet them as well. I know they'll love you, just as I do." Inu-Yasha told her with much excitement in his voice.

Karu, as she would now be called rather then, "The baby", smiled up at her father and soon fell into a peaceful slumber in Inu-Yasha's arms.

Inu-Yasha held her close to him gently and spoke kind words.

"I've got you, and I will never let go."

~Later that day, with Sango~

Sango strolled about in the woods.

*What a morning. Kagome's baby was born and I hear Inu-Yasha named her Karu a little after sunrise. It's now around noon, and everything's quieted down a bit, except for all the gossip going around the village women about then newborn in the town.* Sango stated in thought as she rolled her eyes.

She sighed and sat down on a rock out in a large field where the summer breeze swept past her swiftly.

Staring at the ground, she was suddenly reminded of a day not too long ago.

She saw herself in that tight demon slayer outfit that she never wore anymore walking about a field almost similar to the one she was in then, searching for the jewel shards, Inu-Yasha and Kagome fighting over _something _odd way ahead of her, Shippo picking flowers with Kirara, and Miroku traveling alongside her.

It was on that day that she realized something most dear to her.

She had been mad at the monk from the early hours of the morning that day, and she wasn't speaking to him, but when she noticed that he wasn't trying anything on her, she turned to him and stared.

His face so gentle and knowing, and yet you could see the mischief in his eyes.

He turned top her and gave her a warm smile that made her feel wanted.

"Well, it looks to me that it's going to be a fine day, indeed. Don't you agree, Sango? The air has a pleasant scent to it, and I'm sure it's not just Kagome's odd liquid she calls "Perfume". I believe it's simply knowing that it'll be a good day, sunny and cheery, and filled with soon to make memories that I'm sure you'll remember for the rest of your life. I think I'll pick flowers with Shippo, that I will!" And he did just that.

Sango watched him kneel down and pick the daises with Shippo in a marry kind of way.

She remembered never being so happy on that day.

She saw Inu-Yasha laughing hysterically at Miroku as he did such a childish thing, and Kagome yelling at him to quit it and she joined the monk and the fox demon herself!

"Well, looks like you and me are the only _normal _ones around here. I'm ashamed." Inu-Yasha murmured to her.

She giggled and let the wind brush past her.

*This is my family….Inu-Yasha, Kagome, Shippo, Kirara, and…..Miroku. I love them all….but…then Miroku's smile I love the most.* She thought.

And the memory faded.

Sango came out of her fond thoughts and placed her hand over her cheek, blushing.

"Miroku was right. I will never forget that day, his kind words, or his smile. I know I will never forget him at all…..it's just……"

Her fists tightened on her kimono as a tear drop fell to the material.

"Why did he have to leave me here……I…..I miss him so much. I truly do………." She whispered as the summer breeze carried her long blackish brownish hair, swaying it in the wind with grace.

"Why………."

Just as the words left her lips, she heard footsteps approaching her.

She wanted to run, but she didn't feel like it, so she stayed put, hoping that whoever it was would just go away after a moment, getting the hint that she didn't want to be bothered.

She listened as the footsteps came closer, until finally, they reached only a few feet away from her.

Her fists tightened again and she became angry.

"PLEASE!!! JUST GO AWAY AND LEAVE ME BE!! I WISH NOT TO BE BOTHERED BY SIMPLE PASSER BYERS!!!" She shouted.

Nothing for a moment, but then……

"Well…so sorry to bother you. If you truly wish for me to leave, then I suppose I could go, but it is truly necessary to call me "a passer bier"?" Said a voice so familiar that Sango nearly fell off the rock she sat upon.

She looked up from the ground, and turned ever so slowly that she wouldn't miss anything.

There stood, with a smile as pure and gentle as his soul, was the monk she had so wished to see for months.

"Miroku………" She whispered.

He laughed and put his hand behind his head.

"Yeah…..sorry I bothered you."

Sango stood up and stared.

Her eyes filled with tears after a moment.

"Miroku……you…..jerk!!!!!" She cried as she ran to him swiftly.

She fell into his arms with ease.

Miroku dropped the bag he carried and his staff, staring down at her.

"W…What's the matter, Sango?" He stuttered as he began to blush deeply.

Sango's grip tightened. 

"You…idiot….leaving me behind for so long….how was I supposed to live……..without you?" She stated.

Miroku's eyes widened.

"I….don't understand. You hate me, do you not, Sango?" He questioned in total confusion.

Sango shook her head frantically.

"Never….never in a million years could I hate you. Miroku…you lecher! I…I…..I love you." She whispered into his kimono as she looked up at him.

Miroku was in complete shock.

Soon, Sango realized what she had done and stepped away, but Miroku pulled her close to him once more.

"I….can see that you didn't mean to say such a thing so hastily, but……what gave you the idea you could step away without kissing me first?" He smirked.

Sango was stunned, and just as she thought she needed to run away or something, for fear of what Miroku meant just then, he pulled her up and kissed her lips gently.

They stood and simply stayed lip-locked for over 5 minutes, before Miroku softly let go, and stepped back from Sango.

"I….I'm sorry…Sango. The truth of the matter is…..I….I love you as well. I simply couldn't stop thinking of you when I was out on the road with little Shippo. Forgive me if I acted too fats, but….just hearing you say such words that I thought you'd never say touched my heart so deeply that I…"

"I understand." Sango smiled as she touched her fingers to her lips.

Miroku smiled back at her.

"Please…..I want you to know that I've cried and missed you so……I just wanted to see you again thus badly…….I……..if you wish to go on the journey again, then I'm going with you……but if you can…please stay here with me." Sango explained.

Miroku stared. "But…what about Kagome? Don't you have to be here to help out with the birth of the baby?" He asked.

Sango smiled more broadly now. "Kagome? She has her baby this morning under the moon's shadow!" She informed with a bit of excitement in her voice.

Miroku was stunned. "Well….seems that I'm a bit off track. Why don't you take me to the village and explain things to be more clearly……my Sango."

Sango blushed at the last words, then became confused. "What about Shippo? Isn't he with you?" 

Miroku shrugged. "I thought he'd come with me, but he went to the village immediately to see Kagome and Inu-Yasha. Boy, will he ever have a shock when he finds out Kagome already had her child!"

Sango stared up at him. "You mean to say…you were intentionally coming to see _me _first?" 

He smiled that smile that no one could oppose.

"Well….yes! I was so excited to be here that I rushed to find you first. I was so happy to find you……"

Sango's kind expression stopped him.

She reached for his hand and they walked one another to the village, only minutes away down the sunny path.

*Everything's so perfect.* Sango told herself in thought.

And everything would remain perfect for her, because Miroku was staying.

No other time was more enjoyable then that to her heart.

~Oi! Hope you're liking it! I still have stuff going for yah! ^.^Keep reading friend! HeHe!~

~chibikagome1@yahoo.com~


	9. Chapter Eight Sweet and Mysterious as th...

~Chapter Eight~ ~Sweet as the cherry blossoms and mysterious as the shadowed moon~

~5 Years Later~

The sunlight filled the hut making it ever more wonderful as Kagome awoke with a yawn and a stretch.

Inu-Yasha lay beside her in peace, his sleeping face enchanting her as it always had.

5 years had passed since they had been together as lovers, and since their one and only daughter had been born.

Sango and Miroku had their own hut now and also had 2 children of their own! Twins to be exact!

They both looked a bit like both their parents. It was rather cute.

Kaede, being so old as she was, was now unable to get out of bed, so Sango, along with the help of her daughter, the girl of the twins, named MiMiru, did most of the priestesses work.

Miroku remained the monk of the village, and was training the boy of the twins, his son, named Miku, to be a great monk as well.

Inu-Yasha and Kagome on the other hand didn't do much.

Kagome helped out with Kaede and also with the nurse of the village, whom was still well working and healthy. Sometimes Kagome wondered if she'd ever get sick, even with a cold!!

Inu-Yasha hung around and did as you usually did, but he had sworn to protect the village from any demons that came near, for he knew that the simple village men couldn't do a very good job without him there.

He was highly respected, by some anyway. His past was still an issue with a few, but people knew that if they were to put Inu-Yasha down, they would be severely punished. No. Not by Inu-Yasha. But Kagome.

She protected him as well as he protected her.

She wouldn't stand for others making fun or putting down her Inu-Yasha, whom she loved more then life, the sun, moon, and earth combined.

Perhaps not much had changed.

Inu-Yasha still cursed a lot, although he was usually hit in the head when he did that in front of any children.

Miroku was still a lecher, even though he was Sango's soul mate. Nothing serious was going on between anyone else though, so Sango tried to ignore Miroku's sick ways.

Sango was still that serious, yet playful type, that every now and then, went out with Inu-Yasha to slay a demon or two near the village, for it brought back many memories of her old village and family.

Shippo was around as well, although he was now a teenager, rather handsome, and very attractive when it came to the ladies.

Finally, Kagome remained the beauty she always had been. Always kind to all, and hated the idea of killing. Although, because she had been living in the feudal era for 5 years now, she had gotten used to the fact that much killing had to be done in that time. She continued working on her archery, and one would be surprised to know that she was superior at it now! She, at times, went out to protect the Shikon jewel fragments she still had with her, from stalking beasts whom wanted it for themselves. She had grown ever wiser, and much more talented.

About Kikyo? She hadn't been seen or head from in those 5 long years ago when she tried to kill Kagome and lie to her in her dreams as Kagome tried to pull away from death and sickness, with the help of Inu-Yasha's love.

Inu-Yasha never thought of Kikyo, which was a good thing.

When he saw Kagome, that was what he saw. 

Only her.

A beautiful young woman with kindness and love in her heart.

It truth, long ago, that was precisely what Kagome had been before Kikyo took her identity and almost tore Inu-Yasha and her apart forever.

Thank the heavens that Inu-Yasha and Kagome had been saved by one another, and pulled away from Kikyo's darkness, and into their own light.

Now everything was peaceful and new.

It was summer again, and perhaps Inu-Yasha and Kagome's greatest treasure they had found, or more less created themselves, was their sweet yet mysterious daughter, Karu.

She was already up, gone out of the hut, and into the forest to do, what else, but play.

Kagome slowly got up and looked down at Inu-Yasha.

She smiled as he sighed in his sleep and moved closer to her body.

She beamed down like an angel to watch over him.

He knew she was there.

Sometimes the two of them couldn't stand to be away from each other, but then again, once in a while, they would have a little fight, but nothing serious.

Ones such as them with so much in common were most likely to have little tiffs now and then.

The anger lasted at the most, 2 hours, for soon they would realize how much they loved one another and say the words "I'm so sorry" repeatedly for a week or more!!!

Kagome hated to get up. She wanted to cuddle up in Inu-Yasha's arms and never leave them, but such a thing couldn't be done. 

Not with a 5 year old running about as she pleases!!

Kagome quickly got into her normal day kimono, a beautiful jade green one with pink lilies on it, and brushed out her hair.

For some reason, she found it much easier to brush and keep clean her hair because of the lack of dirt in the air in the feudal era.

She looked to Inu-Yasha one last time.

She couldn't stand it.

She rushed over and hugged his sleeping form tightly, kissing his head.

There was no getting over him.

Every day it was as if they had just fallen in love or something.

The love they felt was so pure and untainted with bothers or hatred, that it came natural though.

He slowly awoke and looked up at her.

"What's wrong?" He questioned.

Kagome shook her head.

"I love you so much." She whispered.

One may think it became old after about a million times of saying that, but Inu-Yasha or Kagome didn't.

Saying such a thing was as if it was the first time they had told one another, and such passion they felt was almost unbearable at times.

Inu-Yasha smiled and nudged closer to her. "I know. I love yah too."

Kagome held him just a bit tighter before letting go and standing up.

"I'll be back. I'm gonna go find Karu. She left _again _too early for me to catch up!!" She explained.

Inu-Yasha smiled. "I'm gonna rest just a bit more. I have no clue why I'm so tired today, but I am. I figure I'd better take this precious time to rest up before I have to listen to that girl scream all day, I swear she gets it from _you_."

Kagome scowled. "Oh really? Well….I'll just have to watch her very carefully and pick out something that she gets from _you_! So there!" 

She stuck out her tongue and rushed out of the hut.

Inu-Yasha laid back down and smiled.

"She pisses me off so much…but you gotta love her!!" He stated.

~With Kagome~

Kagome walked through the forest and smelled the scent of the summer breeze.

"Wow. Time goes by so quickly it's almost not fair. Karu's birthday is almost already here, and she'll be 6!! And that means that it's almost been 7 years since Inu-Yasha and I have been together like this as lovers, and already 9 years or so since we first met. Well…actually we met a long time ago, perhaps hundreds of years before now! We were spirits and we were meant to find one another, before……Kikyo came along." Kagome had trouble even still with Kikyo.

The very fact that Kikyo had intended to kill Inu-Yasha after taking back Kagome's soul, made Kagome want to just slap Kikyo across the face and set the fake priestess straight that Inu-Yasha was his own. He wasn't a simple play thing she could toss around. He was a living, breathing, wonderful, human being, and if Kikyo ever again dared to attempt such a thing, Kagome would for sure send Kikyo flying to the next star.

Kagome quickly shook the horrible thought out of her head. Such memories shouldn't even dwell in her mind, and yet they do. But she couldn't keep on thinking about it. She had to face the future and look forward to it all, and know that she would never have to worry about Kikyo. Never again would she have to stress that the walking dead-priestess would come back and take her Inu-Yasha away. And even if she did try, Kagome would never let go on his hand. Never.

Kagome was suddenly shot out of her positive thinking as birds fly rapidly from the trees above.

Kagome looked up in confusion.

"What? What's wrong with those birds? They look like they've seen a ghost or something." She stated.

She sighed and continued to walk.

The sun was becoming hotter now as the afternoon approached with speed.

A sudden splash was heard from up ahead and Kagome quickly rushed to see what it was.

She pushed back some bushes and tree limbs, looked towards the river in front of her, and found what she had been looking for this whole time.

There, sitting at the edge of the river, was a small girl.

She had black hair running down to the middle of her back, about the same length as Kagome's.

When the girl turned, Kagome was continued to this day to be stunned at the beautiful color of golden-brown in the child's eyes, and the features that clearly showed who her mother and father were.

She had Kagome's smile and lovely face, and yet somewhere in there, you knew she had Inu-Yasha in her as well.

The girl's kimono was rather nice too. It was a cute shade of yellow, with white blossoms on it.

Her hair was all down, except for two front strands that fell from the sides of her forehead down to her chest, which were tied in perfect braids.

The girl smiled and quickly got to her feet, running to Kagome's side.

"Mama!!!" She cried as she fell into her mother's arms.

Kagome hugged the child with much love.

"What are you doing out here this morning? You didn't wait for me or your father, you know, and there could be demons out at the time you left!" Kagome explained.

The girl, of course, named Karu, nodded.

"I know……but…I can handle them!! I can destroy them really easily!! Just like Daddy does!!!" She complained.

Kagome patted her daughter's head. "I know….but still…don't leave the house without telling someone, okay?"

Karu sighed. "Yes, mama."

Kagome nodded. "Okay! Now that that's settled, what do yah say we go find your daddy?"

Karu's face immediately lit up. "Okay!! Let's go now!! Come on, mama!!! Come on!!"

Kagome laughed as Karu pulled her along. 

Karu loved Kagome very much, and it was just a girl thing for a daughter and a mother to have such a love and bond, but Karu absolutely adored and loved to death Inu-Yasha.

He knew it too.

He loved her just as much.

After all, she was his one and only, and Karu changed his life forever.

Simply knowing that he had become something so grand, and was loved by a child with a bright smile and a beautiful future, was enough for him to not resist when Karu would reach up and take his hand for guidance.

Karu rushed ahead of Kagome and ran into the hut with a fast speed.

In an instant, Kagome heard Inu-Yasha cry out and Karu's laughter.

She began to giggle as well when she found her daughter and lover on the floor of the hut, Karu hugging Inu-Yasha a bit too tightly.

"Okay, okay! You scared me!" Inu-Yasha gasped through Karu's tight grasp.

Karu laughed and let go.

"Sorry, daddy, but I wanted to see you! I missed you all day! You are very lazy. You should be getting up with me so that mama won't scold me for being out when demons can get me!!" Karu continued on.

Like children do, she could have rambled on like that forever, explaining things Inu-Yasha couldn't even tell what!

"Right! I shouldn't be so lazy. I'll get up with yah earlier tomorrow." He promised.

Karu jumped up and smiled. "Okay!!"

Kagome placed her hand on Karu's head.

"My goodness! You're a bit hyper today, aren't you? And why is that?" She stated.

Karu grinned. "Cause Shippo-kun promised me that he would take me out to see the big flower place!!"

Inu-Yasha and Kagome stared. "The….flower place????" Inu-Yasha questioned.

Karu nodded. "Uh Huh! He said that there were lots of flowers there that I could pick for everyone that I love! It's where you go to get those kinds of flowers! That's what he said!!!"

"Alright then. Will you get one for me?" Kagome questioned leaning over to Karu's face.

Inu-Yasha nodded. "Me too? Yah love me, don't you?" 

Karu smiled brightly. "Yes. I love you both very much! Okay! I need to go now! Shippo-kun will be waiting for me by the river!! Sorry!! I'll be back later on!!!" 

And before Inu-Yasha or Kagome could say another word, the little child was out of the hut and running up the path towards the river with a rather quick pace.

Kagome beamed after her.

Then there was silence.

"…………now what?" Kagome wondered aloud.

Inu-Yasha ran his hand across the floor and by Kagome's foot.

Then with care, but quickly, grabbed her by the legs and sent her to the floor into his lap.

She opened her eyes after closing them and laid her head down onto his chest.

"Are…you okay??" Inu-Yasha wondered as he looked down to her in confusion.

Kagome laughed softly. "No…..Do you have a problem with me loving you so much?"

Inu-Yasha smiled. "Not at all. Love me as much as you wish."

Kagome smiled. How she loved it this way.

There were no worries. Just love, peace, friendship, and happiness.

In just peaceful times though, one would never expect to hear of something horrible. Something that may as well tear apart a love so strong, that it could defeat anything, but this.

~In the village~

Sango walked with her daughter MiMiru and her son Miku in the village market place.

"Mommy!! I want that!! Please! I think it says that the dolly was made by a famous person!!" MiMiru shouted as she saw a doll hanging in a stand.

"Mom!!! Look at that wooden sword!! Or those fake charms!!!! I WANT ONE!!! Please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Exclaimed Miku at the same time, pulling on Sango's arm as if it were made of rubber.

"Now! You two better pipe down or I'll not buy you what we _really _came here for!!!" Sango scolded.

"Yes." The two twins said at the same time in a depressed tone.

"Excuse me!!! Lady Sango!!!!!" Called a stand owner from behind the three.

Sango turned at the sound of her name and stared at the woman that had shouted to her.

"Yes? What do you need?" She questioned once she got near the stand.

"I'm terribly sorry to bother you, but I remember the stories, and so I figured you might know of the priestess Kikyo?" The woman stated.

Sango stuttered at the name. "If you don't mind, I have better things to do then stand around and speak of such a terrible woman. Good day." She snapped.

The woman in the stand grabbed Sango's arm quickly.

"Please!!! If you think of her as such, then I do as well!! I wanted to tell you. I overheard of two men talking the other day. It seems that the priestess Kikyo…whom has been missing from existence for almost 6 years, has been spotted!!! Headed this way too!!!!!!!" She exclaimed.

Sango's eyes widened.

Without another second wasted, Sango took the woman's collar of her kimono, and brought her up to meet her eyes.

"WHERE DID YOU GET THIS INFORMATION!!! WHO WERE THE MEN!!!!! HOW LONG AGO DID YOU HEAR THIS!!!!???" She screamed.

MiMiru and Miku stared at their mother.

"Mommy?" MiMiru questioned.

The woman in the stand shook her head. "I know non or this information, except I heard it over a week ago, in the south!!!"

Sango let the woman go and stared off towards Inu-Yasha and Kagome's hut.

"I have to go warn them!!!" She shouted in a whisper as she ran off down the road.

MiMiru and Miku stared after her.

"Miku? What's wrong with mommy?" MiMiru asked.

Miku shrugged. "I don't know, but I think we'd better follow her to Aunty Kagome and Uncle Inu-Yasha's hut! And quickly!!"

MiMiru nodded, and soon they were racing after the fast Sango.

*WHY!!!??? WHY IS THAT BITCH STILL LIVING!!?? WHAT DOES SHE WANT!!!?? I'D BETTER HURRY…OR SOMEONE WILL BE HURT IN INU-YASHA'S FAMILY!!!! I JUST KNOW THAT'S WHAT KIKYO'S AFTER!!!! MAYBE………* Sango paused her fast moving thoughts.

"………Karu………" She whispered.

She continued to run faster on the road, staring towards Inu-Yasha and Kagome's hut with much concern.

~Hi! Yep! This thingy goes on and on doesn't it!!! Ahhhhh!!! Well, don't worry! I'm only planning on either 1 or 2 more chapties, and then I'm quiten, kay!!! Sorry if you're sick and tired of reading!!! DON'T LEAVE THOUGH!!!! It's getting good!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! To me…….um…yeah! HeHe!~

~chibikagome1@yahoo.com~


	10. Chapter Nine My heart is my heart, not y...

~Chapter Nine~ ~My heart is my heart, and my love is my love, not yours, not yours at all~

~With Shippo and Karu~

"Wow!! Look at this one, Shippo-kun!" Exclaimed Karu as she picked a pinkish blue daisy from the grass and up to Shippo's eyes.

The teenage fox demon smiled brightly.

"That is a nice one! How lucky you are to find such a color! It will bring you good fortune, I do believe!" Shippo stated.

Karu beamed up at him with joy. "Truly? Neat! I'm gonna go find more over here!!" She explained as she ran off to the other side of the field.

Shippo stood up, a fine young man now.

Because he was older now, he had taken on the form of both demon, and human, and right now, he was in his human form.

His hair was still the orange it had always been, but his tail was gone, and his ears were human, and his fox feet were human as well.

He smiled at little Karu as she jumped through the tall flowers, trying to capture a small butterfly in her hands.

He thought of her as the little sister he never had.

She looked up to him to take her to this spot almost every few days of the normal week.

He lived where he wanted, but his home was near her.

She reminded him so much of Kagome if he had ever met her as a 5 year old child!

Karu turned to him and smiled happily as she held up another flower.

"LOOK AT THIS ONE!!! ISN'T IT LOVELY??" She called over to him.

He laughed slightly. "Yes! It does look lovely! Go find some more, and don't forget to pick some for your parents!"

Karu stared for a moment. "YOU TOO??" She called again.

Shippo shrugged. "I guess."

Karu nodded. "OKAY!"

Shippo glanced at the scenery. So many greens and many other colors.

Summer was grand. Nothing seemed to go wrong on these days of peace.

He had all he needed to be happy. A little sister. All his friends from the journeys long past, and two younger siblings, MiMiru and Miku, to look after and love as their older brother.

He smiled at the thought of being something so important.

He let the warm breeze flow past him, and make it's way to Karu's cheek.

She felt it as well, but instead of it being warm, it was a sudden chill that fell around her.

"Humm. That's funny. It's supposed to be warm outside cause it's summer, right?" She questioned a small butterfly that landed on a near flower.

The insect knew of nothing to say and flew away without the courtesy to say goodbye.

Karu sighed. "Well…..now what? I'm so confused."

Suddenly, she heard a footstep and turned around quickly.

"Who's there?!" She cried.

A woman she had never seen before stepped forward from the trees and into the field.

Although she looked very lovely and nice, there was some sort of sense to her that Karu didn't like, and even at that age, she knew that the feeling she got wasn't good.

"I'm so sorry to startle you." The woman stated.

Karu stared, forgetting her manners all together.

The woman was weary nice clothes! A beautiful priestess kimono, and a bow and arrow set on her back! She was flawless!

Karu swallowed hard and bowed.

"I…I'm sorry. I forgot to be polite like my mama tells me." She stuttered.

"Why do you act so afraid?" The woman asked.

Karu shrugged. "I….I'm not….supposed to talk to strangers."

The woman's eye brow raised. "For a child of Inu-Yasha's to be so polite and timid, I'm rather impressed and shocked more less."

Karu smiled a bit. "Y…You know who my daddy is?" She asked.

The woman smiled stiffly. "Yes. I know your father more then anyone on this earth."

"No." Karu stated, a little irritated at the last comment.

The woman glared. "What?"

"I said no. You can't know my daddy better then anyone else cause my mama knows him better then anyone else! She says that they both know everything about each other. It's just a thing whenever you fall in love." Karu stated, obviously copying what Kagome had told her.

The woman seemed a bit angered, but kept cool.

"Yes……right. How could I forget that your mother is _that _young girl." She snapped.

Karu put a mad look on. "Don't say my mama's name in such a manner! You act as if you know _her _too! I don't think you know my daddy neither!! You are just looking for a fight! Go away and leave me be! I'll call Shippo-kun on you if you don't go!"

The woman stared in aggravation. She had had it with the girl.

"Now _there's _the Inu-Yasha inside you. You little fool!! How I hate Inu-Yasha!! Because you are his daughter…I will hate you too!!!!" The woman yelled as she slapped Karu to the ground with a strong hand.

Karu sat up and held her hand to her cheek, it turning red in the cause of the blow.

"Please…..leave me alone!!! Please!!" She quivered as the woman came closer to her.

"Do you wish to know my name? My name is Kikyo. I am here to take back revenge on your father and mother. I hate them both, but because you are both of them put together…I will hate you even more!!" She snapped, as she grabbed Karu up into her arms and ran off into the forest.

Karu didn't know what to say, but only one thing was on her mind that she could think of.

"DADDY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Suddenly, Shippo heard the cry and looked off to where Karu had been picking flowers.

When he saw she was gone, he panicked. 

"SHIT!!!!!! KARU!!!! KARU!!!!!!!!!!????" He cried as he ran over to the area.

Nothing was there.

"Oh crap!!!!! I GOTTA GET INU-YASHA AND KAGOME BEFORE SOMETHING TERRIBLE HAPPENS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" He exclaimed.

~Back at Kagome and Inu-Yasha's hut~

Kagome sat on the floor, Inu-Yasha beside her, and Sango facing her.

"Are you sure this woman at the stand wasn't just fooling with you, Sango?" Kagome questioned.

Sango nodded. "I could tell by the sound in her voice she spoke the truth."

Inu-Yasha looked to Sango, sensing the fear in her.

"Sango? What's wrong? I can small your fear from over here!!"

Sango nodded. "Well….please. I wanted to warn you. Keep Karu by your sides at all times!! Don't let her go far from your eye sight!! If Kikyo is truly out there somewhere…..I'm afraid she was after you two, but then I got to thinking, why would she try to get you two, when she already knows that there's something much more valuable that she can take without a fight at all!!"

Kagome and Inu-Yasha stared with worry.

"Inu-Yasha….Kagome…..your daughter is in danger. Serious danger. Where is she now?" Sango stated.

Kagome looked to the hut door with concern.

"She went out with Shippo to pick flowers. I don't think that………." She paused her talk.

Heavy breathing was coming nearer, they all could hear it.

Suddenly, Shippo burst through the hut door, out of breath, and tear lining his eyes.

Kagome got to her feet and ran over to his sight as he fell to his knees.

"Shippo!!?? What happened??!!! Where's Karu!!!!!!!?????" She cried, not yelling at him, but yelling at the fact that something horrible much have happened.

He looked up to her face as a tear fell down his cheek.

He brushed it away quickly and got o his feet, taking Kagome's arm and looking to Inu-Yasha and Sango.

"PLEASE!!! YOU MUST COME!!! KARU HAS DISAPPEARED!!!!!! SHE WAS BY MY SIDE AND A SECOND LATER SHE VANISHED!!!!! COME ON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Shippo screamed.

Inu-Yasha could feel this slit through his soul, his heart beating harder in his chest as he rose to his feet.

"What….do you mean? Shippo?" He stuttered in a trembling voice.

Shippo shook his head. "I'LL EXPLAIN LATER!!! PLEASE!!! YOU MUST COME!! I'D HAVE GONE TO LOOK FOR HER MYSELF, BUT I KNEW THAT IF IT WAS SOMETHING HORRIBLE, I COULD DO NOTHING FOR HER!!! I NEEDED YOU!!!!! I DIDN'T LEAVE HER!!!! I WENT FOR HELP!!!!!! COME NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Inu-Yasha nodded slightly before rushing out the door.

Sango ran to her hut and grabbed her boomerang before heading out.

"Sango? Where are you headed to in such a hurry?" Miroku questioned as he sat on the floor looking over his omen cards.

"NO TIME TO EXPLAIN!!! I'LL TELL YOU LATER!!! WATCH THE KIDS!!!!!" She exclaimed before running out the door again.

Miroku stared.

"Papa? What's wrong with Mommy today?" MiMiru questioned as she walked into the hut with Miku close behind.

Miroku took his daughter onto his lap and looked to Miku as he sat down beside him.

"I don't really know, but we'll find out later. Something tells me something bad is happening." He explained.

Miku sighed. "Then why don't we all go and see. It wouldn't hurt!! Come on dad!! You could use your wind tunnel! It's a good way to defend yourself!!!"

Miroku patted to boy's head. "Yes. But I need to stay here with you. If I let you go see what's going on, your mother would get so mad at me! Don't want that to happen, do you?" 

Miku sighed in aggravation and went to sit on the other side of the hut.

Miroku smiled at the boy's frustration and then put on a serious face.

"Papa? I wanted to know….have you seen Karu today? I wanted to play, but she was supposed to be back home a long time ago and then come here. I don't know what's happening." MiMiru explained with a sad tone.

Miroku suddenly had that strange feeling that this was what everything was all about, or he surely would have seen Karu that day!

He didn't want to worry MiMiru though, so he put on a smile and hugged the small girl.

"Don't fret. Karu is fine. She's probably just out with Shippo still. She goes to pick flowers with him I believe."

MiMiru nodded and went to pester Miku.

Miroku sighed. *Karu…….so……this is what everyone is all upset about. I wonder what's happening?* He thought in his mind.

~Back with the others~

Shippo led Inu-Yasha, Kagome, and Sango towards the field of flowers that was Karu and his secret place to pick the daisies and lilies.

He pointed over to the area where he last saw Karu.

Sango stayed back to watch for others as Shippo took Inu-Yasha and Kagome to that spot.

Inu-Yasha was becoming more and more frantic.

What had happened?

Just then he found a small batch of flowers, dropped by he knew was his daughter.

He picked them up and held them to his chest.

"I know who did this………..I know what happened." He said stiffly.

Kagome and Shippo looked to him.

"It…..was…….Kikyo. She…..she came and took my…………." He felt tears and anger at the same time.

How he hated it that Karu had been taken that he wanted to fall down and cry, but how he so wanted to destroy Kikyo for what she had done, he felt anger and rage.

His fists tightened, but just as he was about to take off alone, he suddenly remembered the one most important thing here.

Kagome stood behind him.

Her hands shook with horror and concern for her little girl.

Her eyes filled with tears, and she didn't know what to do.

She buried her face into her hands and began to cry.

Inu-Yasha knew that Kagome needed to come. She had to be there with him, or else how could he defeat Kikyo?

He turned and held Kagome tightly.

"Shush now. It's okay. Karu is a strong girl. She will hold on until we find her, and I swear that we will. Dry your tears." He said softly in a caring voice.

Kagome nodded, as if being told by her father or older brother, and wiped her eyes quickly.

"I know….but……._how _will we find her?"

Inu-Yasha turned to Shippo.

"Well? Do you have a slightest clue as to which way she was taken to?" He questioned.

Shippo nodded. "Actually, yes! If Kikyo did take her, that she wouldn't have been stupid enough to walk through the field where I could see her, so I bet she went into the forest. Deep into the forest at that."

Inu-Yasha agreed with him.

"Inu-Yasha? Can you follow her scent? I'm sure you could, if you remember anyway." Kagome stated.

Inu-Yasha sighed. "I really don't want to know Kikyo's scent anymore. It's almost something of a stench then a scent now, and plus. Kikyo is most likely not even living, only through maybe 2 souls she's stolen. She couldn't have a scent, and even if she did, it would be extremely hard to locate."

Kagome nodded.

Sango quickly ran up to them then.

"Nothing over that way, but I over heard Shippo's talk. I think he's right. Let's head into the deep forest. I'm almost positive that Kikyo took Karu there." She explained.

The other 3 nodded.

Kagome looked to the woods and began to walk ahead of everyone else, Inu-Yasha close behind her.

"Sango? Why are they acting so strange?" Shippo wondered aloud.

Sango walked as well, gesturing for him to follow.

"Think for a moment, Shippo. If you had a son or daughter that meant the world to you, and he or she was taken by someone you knew would do harm to them, what would _you _do?"

Shippo sighed. "Karu means a lot to me too. She's like my little sister. I feel like I let Kagome and Inu-Yasha down, because I promised I'd watch after her."

Sango knew that Shippo felt awful. "Don't beat yourself up because of this. It wasn't your fault. Karu just happened to wander out of your eyesight for a single second. It wasn't your-"

"YES IT WAS!!!!" Shippo interrupted.

Inu-Yasha and Kagome looked back at him.

"THIS IS ALL MY FAULT THAT THIS HAS HAPPENED!! KARU MEANS SO MUCH TO ME AND LOOK AT HOW I'VE LET HER AND EVERYONE ELSE DOWN!!! SHE COULD BE HURT BECAUSE OF ME AND MY DAMN WONDERING EYES!!!!!! I HATE MYSELF!!!!! I WON'T REST TILL SHE'S FOUND!!!" He screamed as he ran ahead of the others, deeper into the dark wood.

Inu-Yasha and Kagome sighed.

"Poor Shippo. I know how he feels. How horrible it must be for him to think that it was his fault that Karu was taken!" Sango stated.

"But it wasn't." Inu-Yasha said in a serious tone.

  
"Listen. All that matters right now is finding Karu before it's too late. Let's go ahead and follow Shippo. Do you agree Kago-" He paused his talk when he saw Kagome not paying attention to him at all.

"Kagome?" He asked in confusion.

She pointed ahead of them.

There, flying deeper into the forest, was one of Kikyo's soul takers.

"KIKYO IS NEAR! I SOMEHOW SENSE IT!! AND DUH! THERE'S A SOUL TAKEN TO PROVE IT!!!! COME ON!!!! LET'S HURRY!!!!!!" She yelled as she ran just as fast as Shippo had into the forest, now becoming foggy.

Inu-Yasha and Sango ran after her with haste.

~With Shippo, and close behind Kagome~

Shippo ran faster and faster, but Kagome managed to catch up to his side.

"Shippo!!! Don't worry! It's not your fault!! It's no one's fault!! Let's just say is was Kikyo's doing, and nothing more! You know Karu loves you, and so that is how I believe she would never run off on purpose just to make you look bad! She's a good girl, and you are dear to her, and I." Kagome stated to him while running along his side.

He turned to her.

She smiled brightly.

He, not really feeling like it, but knowing it would make things better, smiled back.

"I know. I exaggerated back there a little, but Kagome! I was watching her! I at least have to find her for you and Inu-Yasha! She…..is so important to you." He stated.

Kagome nodded. "Yes. She is. She is like the symbol to mine and Inu-Yasha's love. I feel that if we lost her, a part of ourselves would go with her. Once you look into a child's eyes for the first time, and know in your heart that she's yours, and that you are to be her mother or father, it stays with you in your soul forever, and you can never lose that bond."

Shippo looked down to his running feet. "I'm so sorry." Was all he could say.

Kagome smiled again weakly. "Like I said. It's not your fault. It's Kikyo's. Now let's go get Karu back and stop Kikyo for good! Okay!"

Shippo nodded.

~With Kikyo and Karu~

Kikyo dropped little Karu to the ground in a dark thicket somewhere in the middle of the forest, where demons were able to stalk 24 hours a day!

Karu was crying and not knowing what to do.

"Please….please, miss Kikyo! Take me back! I'm scared. I want my daddy and mama. I miss them……and I dropped the flowers I was going to give them! What will I do, miss Kikyo? What _did _I do?" She sobbed.

Kikyo sneered. "Cry me a river. It's not like any of those things will matter in a moment."

Karu stared. "W…Why is that?" 

Kikyo smirked then. "Because you'll be dead soon. In due time, your father and mother, and perhaps some of your other family members will be here, and when they do, I will slit your throat right in front of their very eyes, and let the anger and grief build up within them. It will truly be something to see!"

Karu's eyes widened. 

"But…..but why? Why do you hate my daddy and mama so much? Have they done anything to you? Have I?"

Kikyo suddenly slapped the girl to the ground again.

"Fool. It's not polite to ask questions I'd rather not remember. I'll tell you this much though. Your father…..I tried to kill him 58 years ago, in this very village. I tricked him into thinking I was Kagome, your mother, and he fell for it. I took your mother's identity and trapped her within my soul, therefore fooling Inu-Yasha into believing _I _was actually the one he for so long sought. My plan was almost perfect, and I even took the lead of joining with the evil demon Naraku to destroy the half breed that your father was and still is. All was going well, until he was the first to attack me through his anger. I bound him to the sacred Goshinboku you know as the god tree, and in doing so, he was held in a deep sleep for 50 years, but on that same day, because of his attack on me, I too died, and my soul was released in the flames that cremated me, setting Kagome's spirit free once more. She was pulled the future though, unable to save Inu-Yasha, reborn as herself once more, and I thought my plan was perfect. Was I ever wrong. That wench mother of yours came back to the past, broke the spell I set over Inu-Yasha, and from there on, I shouldn't have to explain. I've tried many of times though to kill him, and still he lives. 5 years ago, I almost claimed his precious Kagome again through illness, yet he won. But not today. He won't make it in time to rescue his little daughter now will he? A thing so dear to him he would dye simply watching her death." She grinned down at Karu.

"So…you'll kill me because you want revenge? I don't understand! Why did you hate my father in the first place! In the very beginning! Why!!!!???" She asked.

Kikyo kicked her over to a tree.

"Shut that hole in your face before I decide to kill you now and leave your body for all to see instead."

Karu rubbed her side from which Kikyo had kicked, and nodded with fear in her eyes and tears.

~Back with the others~

Inu-Yasha ran quickly with Sango upon his back.

He hadn't planned on giving her a ride that day, but because Shippo and Kagome had ran so far ahead of them, it was somewhat hard to keep up without going at Inu-Yasha's rate.

"Look! There they are!" Exclaimed Sango after a moment.

Inu-Yasha ran up behind Shippo and Kagome and set Sango down.

"What's wrong? Is Kikyo near?" Inu-Yasha questioned Kagome.

Kagome nodded. "See?"

She pointed to the tree tops off in the distance.

"There are some more of the soul takers, and they're gathering over there!! That's where Kikyo is, I'm sure of it!!" She explained as the group pushed their way towards the bunch of soul takers.

~Back with Kikyo and Karu~

Karu sat there, and couldn't help but feel more weak and lost.

She didn't know if she would live to see another hour, or if anyone was going to find her!

She didn't want to, but she began to sob to herself trying to not to be too loud, for fear that Kikyo might just kill her for that reason as well!!

Kikyo sensed Inu-Yasha's presence coming closer, and Kagome's.

Kikyo smirked. "Well….I think I've had enough of _you_."

She suddenly reached down and again struck Karu in the face.

Karu was still crying, but she felt anger building up inside her.

"What's wrong? Scared? Do you now realize that no one will ever love you again after you go to hell?" Kikyo stated in a mocking tone.

Karu shut her eyes. 

"NO!!!!!! STOP IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!" She screamed as she pulled her hand back and thrust it forward, hitting Kikyo's cheek with much power!

Kikyo stepped back and held her face.

It already began to throb!!

"You…….LITTLE WENCH!!!!! YOU'RE JUST LIKE _THEM_!!! NON OF YOU CAN EVER REALIZE THAT I AM BETTER!! YOU ARE NOTHING BUT A………."

Just as Kikyo yelled this as she lifted Karu up into the air by her kimono collar, Kagome, Inu-Yasha, Sango, and Shippo pushed back the bushes to see what she was saying.

(Continuing on with Kikyo's sentence)

"A WORTHLESS, UGLY, CLUMSY, DIMWITTED, COMPLETELY USELESS, QUARTER BREED!!!!!!!!!!!! JUST LIKE YOUR FATHER…….AND YOUR MOTHER TOO!!! SUCH STUPIDITY AND RETCHED AFFECTION!!! I HATE THEM AND I HATE YOU!!!! NOW DIE, LITTLE KARU! BET YOU WISHED YOUR _DADDY _WAS HERE TO SAVE YOU NOW……." She shouted with revenge in her voice.

"NO!!!!!!! DADDY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Cried Karu as Kikyo just about threw her up into the air, and set her bow and arrow up to shoot her with perfect aim.

Suddenly though, her blow was cut off as Inu-Yasha ripped his claws through Kikyo's back.

Kagome caught Karu before she hit the ground, and the uncoordinated arrow went shooting off into the trees, and stuck itself into a tree branch.

Kikyo spun around to face Inu-Yasha's anger filled face.

He took her by the collar of her kimono and pushed her up against a tree.

"HOW DARE YOU!!! HOW DARE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" He screamed.

Kikyo tried to give him a fake look of "Please….I love you" expression, but he knew it was all a lie, and he wouldn't care anyway if it was or not. He could never love her!

"DAMN YOU, BITCH!!!!!!!!!! WHY!!!?? WHY DID YOU THINK YOU COULD WALK INTO _MY _LIFE AND TRY AND HURT _MY _DAUGHTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!???????????" He shook her hard.

Kikyo placed an evil glare onto him, then grabbed onto his hands.

"Why? Because, my dear Inu-Yasha, I'm not stopping until I get what I want….revenge. I want to avenge my own death, and the death of my plan. You and that damn Kagome ruined it!! Your _feelings _for her was what destroyed my plans back 58 years ago, and 5 years ago too!!! I almost won…but you took it away and made me look like a fool!!!! I hate you, Inu-Yasha. I HATE YOU!!!!!!!! I WANT NOTHING BUT TO SEE _YOUR _LOVED ONES BLOOD OR _YOUR _BLOOD COVERING MY FEET!!!!!!" She screamed into his face. 

She suddenly threw him to the ground, and stepped onto his hands with her bare feet.

"AND JUST WHAT EXACTLY DO YOU MEAN BY THAT!!!!???" He yelled.

She grinned with hatred for him.

"It's either your daughter and precious Kagome……or you. It's your choice. You can not escape hell this time. It's either I take you, or the ones you love most…being your lover and daughter. Think hard about this one, Inu-Yasha. Just remember one thing…..whatever you do choose….will be forever. So what's it gonna be? Your loved one's lives, or yours?"

Inu-Yasha couldn't believe what was happening!

Just a few hours ago, he had been so happy, knowing he was loved and wanted, always thinking he would for all time be free to love and be with Kagome forever, and watch his child grow into a woman herself……but now……Kikyo had taken it away, giving him two options he already knew the answer to.

He lowered his head to the ground, and looked over at Kagome and Karu.

He saw Karu's face. So innocent and loving. How he adored her. How perfect he felt she was, from the day he had first laid eyes on her as a tiny infant, only born minutes before.

Then he looked up to Kagome's face. The face he always saw in his dreams, and saw when he awoke again. She was the arms he ran to. The arms that he knew he would always be able to fall asleep in and never worry if she would get annoyed. She was his home that he would always have shelter from the rain or snow….and the lover that he knew would love him for all eternity. The eyes that looked back at him were to soft and gentle. He knew she could just about read his thoughts. Her grasp tightened around Karu as Inu-Yasha saw both of them.

His two most loved creatures. The things he never thought he deserved to have. The things he had for some long wished for…..but never thought it possible until the day Kagome whispered to him that she loved him. The day he saved her from death and pulled her away from evil and into his arms in which he thought he could hold her without end.

His heart shattered suddenly.

"GIVE ME YOUR ANSWER _HALF BREED_!!!!!!" Kikyo commanded once more, becoming impatient.

Inu-Yasha looked to the other side of him and saw Shippo, and Sango.

He also imaged Miroku and Kaede, and Sango and Miroku's children.

He saw happy times from the journeys of the Shikon shards, to unhappy times when he thought he had lost hope in everything.

He saw everything, and it was even clearer then before of what to do.

He looked up at Kikyo's face.

Such a still, unloving face, which he had been fooled by.

How he hated this, but……..

He stood up and lowered his head.

"Take me." He stated.

Kikyo smirked. "That's what I thought."

Kagome's world crashed down around her as this happened to quickly.

"W……What?……what are you saying?" She stuttered in shock.

He looked to her and then looked away, not wanting to see the pain he knew she must be in.

"Then…I will bind you to me and I will take you to hell….where you can repay me for destroying my plans……by staying in those hot pits until the end of time, doing nothing but regretting what you've done." Kikyo sneered.

Inu-Yasha looked up at her. 

"But….but that's the thing. I don't regret anything. I don't regret falling in love with Kagome….or having a child with her….or swearing to be by her side forever…..or…….or giving myself to you. I don't regret any of it at all." He spoke with a wise tone.

"And why is this? Why are you even letting me take you when you know you have a chance at escaping hell. The Inu-Yasha I used to know while he was under my spell wouldn't do this at all." Kikyo quoted.

Inu-Yasha shut his eyes and looked to Kagome and Karu again, then back to Kikyo.

"Take me……..just…..don't hurt my family. I….love them too much. I love them all…..even that lecherous monk Miroku….they are my family…..and Kagome and Karu are most dear to my heart. Take me……not them. Because I know that this is all I can do now….to protect them." He said as a tear ran down his cheek.

"Very well. Perhaps love does have it's toll." Kikyo stated as the ground began to shift under them.

Inu-Yasha looked down and saw the ground opening up slowly around him.

The hot flames of hell shot up, not wanting to wait any longer to burn the world above and pull down the soul they had been waiting for.

Kikyo's smirk grew, and Inu-Yasha's spirit was burning away with every second going by.

Kagome felt the earth around her shake.

"Mama? W…What's happening? I don't understand." Karu stated with confusion and sadness in her voice.

Inu-Yasha heard these words and fell to his knees.

How could he bare to even think about losing the child he had loved in such a deep way.

Kagome held the small girl close to her and tried desperately to push away the tears so that she wouldn't worry her daughter.

"E…Everything's going to be fine, Karu. I….promise."

Sango heard this and frowned. 

There was nothing any of them could do.

Kikyo had built up to this day, and her power was much too great to try and overcome.

This was one of the reasons Inu-Yasha knew he had no choice but to give up.

Sango walked over to Kagome and knelt down.

"I'll take Karu. She'll be save with me for now." She explained in a kind, yet saddened tone.

Kagome nodded and picked up the child, handing her to Sango's arms.

As Karu was being walked away, she looked over Sango's shoulder.

Inu-Yasha watched as she disappeared, her face already becoming a memory that he believed he would never see again for real.

At least he knew he had a child once.

Shippo left as well.

He felt that this was too much for him to bare, and so he left.

Now it was only Kikyo, Inu-Yasha, and Kagome.

Kikyo stood in front of Inu-Yasha, awaiting the ground's total opening.

Inu-Yasha clutched his teeth together and held back soon coming tears while on his knees in front of Kikyo.

Kagome just knelt a few feet away and didn't know what to do.

What could she do in the first place?

How could she save the one she loved most out of anything or anyone in the entire universe!

She didn't truly know, but she did know one thing.

She would find a way in time.

~Hi! Yep!! My last chaptie is comin' up in two more chapters! Hope you're enjoying everything so far! I am! HeHe! ^.^~

~chibikagome1@yahoo.com~


	11. Chapter Ten I promised I'd hold your han...

~Chapter Ten~ ~I promised to hold your hand forever, and that's exactly what I'm going to do~

Suddenly, the ground began to burst open.

"See here, Inu-Yasha. Do you feel the heat rising? This is what you will continue to feel for the rest of your life and eternally after it ends." Kikyo stated as the flames began to rise higher out.

Inu-Yasha was just as lost as ever.

He felt that he had lost a battle, but then he also felt that he was doing his last duty to protect Kagome, and his daughter.

It was all he could do, for there was no other way around it.

He knew that Kagome still sat, waiting for something, _anything _to occur, and how he wished he could run to her and hold her close, and promise her that everything would be alright. That he would never leave her alone.

The ground had done it's final transformation.

Kagome could heard the moaning of lost souls on the flames.

Somehow she wished she could die and hide in the darkness, praying that Inu-Yasha would find her there one day again, but it was no use.

She could never fall to hell, and even if she did, Inu-Yasha would haunt her until she reconsidered.

She knew he wanted the best for her, and the best only.

Tears fell from her eyes as soon as she looked back to Kikyo and Inu-Yasha.

How could Kikyo have won?

How?

Suddenly, Kikyo giggled a bit and grabbed onto Inu-Yasha's neck collar of his kimono, pulling him up to his feet.

"Now…my dear Inu-Yasha…..I will bind you to me and I will drag you to hell. I can not wait to begin torturing you. How delightful it will be to see _you _suffer _for once_." She sneered.

She then got out something from the pocket of her kimono.

It looked like a dagger, but much too small to be one.

She held it up to Inu-Yasha eyes.

"This, Inu-Yasha, is a binding spell needle. Once I imbed it within you, you can never escape me or hell. You will never be able to be pulled out of hell….and you will never be able to even remember Kagome…or your daughter…or anyone you've ever known dear to you. It will all die, just as you enter my spell."

Inu-Yasha's eyes widened with shock.

"But…how can you…I……" He couldn't find the words, and he knew if he spoke or yelled what he felt, she would go ahead and harm Kagome or Karu.

It was that simple.

Kikyo ran the sharp edge across his neck skin, barley touching him with it.

Kagome stared in horror.

*N….Not even….REMEMBER ME!!!!! BUT…..HOW!!!?? PLEASE!!!! WHAT CAN I DO!!! INU-YASHA!!!!!!!!!!!* She pleaded in thought.

Kikyo looked over at Kagome. 

"See her, Inu-Yasha. Look how precious she is. I know you love her more then life…then anything. If you want to save her life, then you must allow me to stab you with this needle. It's the only way."

Inu-Yasha didn't want to forget Kagome though!!!

NOT AT ALL!!!

He never wanted to lose her image, even if he had to be away from her.

But he knew that if he complained, it would make things worse.

Much worse.

He looked to Kagome's eyes.

"I'm sorry." Was all he could manage to whisper to her before being pulled back to Kikyo's face again by her hand.

"Wise decision. Take in what you can of her…for you will no longer recall even her name after a moment goes by. Anything left to say?" Kikyo sneered.

Inu-Yasha couldn't look to Kagome's face again.

He saw Kikyo and he hated her more then ever.

"Yes. I do. No matter how hard you try…I will never forget Kagome. How can I when she's basically all I think about? All I dream about? All I….will ever love. There is nothing you can do to block out my memories! So you can stab me all you wish, wench….but I will never lose my memories. Kagome taught me once that memories are one of the most important things in life. Once you have them, they never leave your heart. I believe this. Some may be bad, and some may be good, but whatever happens, you're stuck with them…and I know that she wasn't lying. Kagome would never lie to me. She loves me and I know it! So, Kikyo, perhaps it seemed that our bond to others was weak, but as for mine and Kagome's……it's stronger then any love. Any love ever spoken of! And…..don't you forget that." He said everything sp perfectly, as if he was planning it the whole time, but in truth, he spoke what his heart had led him to speak. It was as simple as that.

"Please….." Began Kikyo again. "Spare me of your foolish talk of love and memories. To me….all this you speak of is silly talk of nothing at all. Now close your eyes and hold your breath. I will stab you and then you will find that you no longer know the woman that sits only feet away from you."

Kagome couldn't take simply watching any longer!

"NO!!! STOP IT!!!" She screamed as she tried to scramble to her feet, but fell back down again with weakness. Weakness of sorrow running through her at that very moment made her look like a small child trying to learn how to walk!

"Having trouble sitting up, little bitch? Why bother? You know if you come any closer I'll kill you and take Inu-Yasha with me to hell anyway." Kikyo remarked.

Kagome tried to stand again. "No!! Let him go!! Please!!!!" She whimpered.

Just as she was about to take a step forward, Inu-Yasha looked her way with wide eyes.

"G…..GET BACK!! STAY AWAY, KAGOME!! DON'T GET CLOSER TO ME!! I SWEAR I'LL BE SO PISSED!!!" Was what came out of his mouth.

Kagome stared. She hadn't heard this manner of talk from him since…well….since before she had gotten sick with pneumonia 6 years before!

"But…..but…..I……" She stuttered.

"LISTEN TO ME, STUPID!!! DON'T YOU….DON'T YOU GET IT!!!!??" His eyes began to water with tears, but he continued on.

"DON'T YOU GET IT!!!??? DON'T YOU COME ANY CLOSER TO ME, YOU HERE!!! NOW WILL YOU SHUT UP…..AND LET ME PROTECT YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" He shouted.

Such things he didn't want to say at that moment, but what else could he do to make Kagome understand?

Kagome's legs gave way suddenly and she fell back down to the dirt.

Inu-Yasha's look changed very rapidly, from an angry expression, to a without hope expression.

He turned away from Kagome's eyes and looked down to the ground.

Kikyo chuckled to herself. "Now….you're mine, Inu-Yasha……" She hissed as she pulled back her arm in which held the needle, and thrust it forward.

Kagome's mind ran frantic.

She knew that she had been right! Memories never fade away from ones heart, but still. A spell such as the needle Kagome feared would make him forget about her and everything else, and although he would remember in his heart, he would never remember in his mind, where memories are most important in the body!

The needle came closer to Inu-Yasha neck, and still she saw so much pass by her.

She saw him. Only him. His soft smile. His gentle touch. The way he held her. The very way he looked at her, or breathed beside her at night under the stars!! He had been there for her so many times. He had saved her from many demons in the past, and had pulled her away from death when she had been sick! He gave her love and was never far away!!! He had been there for her when she was pregnant with Karu, and when the dear child was born!! He had been there. He had been there. Always protecting her. Always keeping her warm. Always shielding her.

He had held her hand the whole way, as he said he would, but…how could one rip his hand away from hers so easily??!!!

Suddenly, she knew what needed to be done.

She looked at Kikyo.

Such anger boiled inside her.

The woman that wanted to harm Inu-Yasha. She remembered she swore she would never let Kikyo touch him again, to shatter his world like she had done 58 years before when she stole Kagome's identity, for Kagome loved him to death, and Kikyo wanted to ruin it.

Her teeth grinded and her fists grasped hard.

She immediately found her strength when a flash of Inu-Yasha ran by her face.

The small boy with long white hair and dog ears, crying to himself as the snow fell around him, because he was all alone and had no one else to cry to. To run to. To be loved by.

"…..no….." Kagome whispered suddenly.

Her teeth gritted as she got to her feet as swift as the wind might carry itself.

Just as the needle was about to hit Inu-Yasha's skin, Kagome ran forward.

"DON'T YOU DARE HARM HIM YOU BITCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" She cried as tear flew behind her as she smacked the needle and Kikyo out of the way and fell down herself.

Kikyo looked up from the ground with anger and fury!!

"THE NERVE OF YOU! I WILL KILL YOU NOW FOR THAT!!!! YOU TRULY ARE A FOOL TO WASTE YOUR LIFE FOR THAT WORTHLESS _HALF BREED_!!!!!"

Kagome had had it, completely!!!

She ran over and took Kikyo's collar, lifting her up to her eyes.

"DON'T YOU DARE SAY SUCH THINGS ABOUT HIM. DON'T YOU DARE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I WON'T LET YOU PUT YOUR BLOODY HANDS ON HIM!!!! YOU CAN'T CONTROL HIM OR I ANY LONGER!!!! THE ONLY THING YOU CAN CONTROL IS WHAT YOU DO NEXT, SO WHAT _ARE _YOU GOING TO DO?" Kagome screamed with rage.

Kikyo lifted her hand and snapped her fingers quickly.

In an instant, the ground that Inu-Yasha knelt upon began to crumble down to hell!!!!

Kagome stood up and ran over to his side, but Kikyo grabbed her leg from behind.

"L…LET ME GO!!!!!!! YOU WON'T HURT HIM!!!!!!!!! YOU WON'T!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" She cried.

Inu-Yasha saw Kagome try to get to him and then be pulled to the ground by Kikyo.

For some reason though, he couldn't stand up and run to help her!!!!

His legs had been paralyzed!!!

He watched in horror as Kikyo pulled out a real dagger from her other kimono pocket and stabbed Kagome's leg with it that she had in her grasp.

Kagome screamed out in pain, and shut her eyes tightly to block out the rest of the sting.

All of this was happening so fast!!!

Kikyo then ran towards him and looked to him with a smirk.

"I will pull you down with my bare hands. You can not escape because your legs can not move, and Kagome can not help you for she is injured. I will win this time, I swear it." And with that, she let herself drop into the flames, suddenly _becoming _the flames that shot up around Inu-Yasha!!

Inu-Yasha looked to Kagome.

She lay on the ground, her leg bleeding heavily.

She was still conscious.

To his shock, she managed to look over to him and give him a look that said she would never give up, no matter how badly she was hurt.

She forced herself to stand, not caring about the pain anymore.

"W…WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! KAGOME, JUST LET ME GO!! YOU GOTTA STOP THIS!!! PLEASE!!! I DON'T WANT YOU HURT ANYMORE!!!! GOD DAMN IT, KAGOME!!!! LISTEN TO ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" He pleaded.

Kagome looked up at him, a mixture of pain, agony, worry and anger, and determination in her eyes.

"NO!!! I WON'T LISTEN TO YOU!! I DON'T CARE ANYMORE!!! I JUST……I CAN'T…..I WON'T LEAVE YOU ALONE!!!! I WON'T!!!!" She screamed as she started to limp over to where the ground was cracking around him.

He was beside himself.

Suddenly, the ground cracked enough that he began to sink through!!!

Kagome began to run to his side, and just as she got there, the ground shattered under him.

Kagome fell to her hands and knees and reached for his arm, catching him right before he fell into the flames below.

"I…INU-YASHA!!!!!!" She screamed.

Inu-Yasha looked down to the flames, seeing Kikyo's dark and evil eyes within them, and then looked up to Kagome.

"N…NO!! LET ME FALL!!! YOU HAVE TO LET ME FALL!!!!!!!!!!!! PLEASE!!! I DON'T WANT YOU KILLED AS WELL!!!!!!!! LET ME FALL!!!!!" He cried up to her as tears formed in his eyes.

"NO!!! I WON'T!!!!!!! I CAN'T!!!!!!! I REFUSE TO LET YOU GO AWAY!!!" She cried back.

"DAMN YOU…YOU….FOOLISH WOMAN. USE YOUR HEAD!! IF YOU DIE HERE…..WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO KARU? WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO SANGO AND MIROKU? WHO WILL BE THERE FOR THEM, IF THEY EVER NEED YOU!!!?? YOU HAVE TO THINK ABOUT THE OTHERS AND FORGET ME!!" Inu-Yasha screamed now.

Kagome opened her tightly closed eyes and looked down at his eyes. The eyes so golden she loved to stare into them until the ends of earth.

A tear fell down her cheek and hit his face below.

"But….how can I forget you? I _am _using my head. I know. I'm not letting myself die. I refuse to let Kikyo take me…but…..I refuse to let you be alone…..and not fight for….for everyone. How do you expect me to simply let go of your hand and let you fall into those flames? How can you think that I could stand up and walk back to the village…..and confront Karu's little face……and tell her that she'll never see her daddy again? How can I go to bed tonight without you by my side…..how can I wake up the next morning and look to the other side of me and not see you laying there? Y…You said to me once that you would hold my hand until the end. I promised that I would………and I'm not breaking that promise. Ever." She explained as she began to cry more freely now.

Inu-Yasha stared up at her, his eyes now filled with tears of grief and confusion.

"W…Why do you care so much about a worthless half breed like me?" He questioned in a cracked voice.

Kagome's hand tightened around his.

"Because…..I saw you. You were all alone. You cried and no one was there to hold you close and promise to be there always. Your mother died and she was the only one in the whole world that you knew loved you……you knew there was one other person though….so you searched….and searched….and you finally found that person you believed was the spirit you loved before you were even born, only it was a trick….and your heart was crushed……and I was trapped within that trickery….and I couldn't be there for you to keep you safe when you needed me most. I see those images of you standing there in the snow with no one……and I hate it so much. I hate to see it, but it's there. _I _was that spirit that should have been there for you…the person you should have found 58 years ago….but instead…I wasn't there. Kikyo wanted to hurt you. How can anyone want to harm you though? You were never worthless to me. You were perfect….unique….and I loved every inch of you. I still do. I believe in your dreams….and hold onto your hopes as if they are my own. I know you'd never lie to me…I know you'd never hurt me….I trust you so fully, and I do to this day. I care because I just do. I could ramble on forever and never stop to catch my breath at all. I love you to death. To the very pit of my soul. I always will. Always. I will hold your hand…..and I will never let go."

Such words Inu-Yasha heard those minutes Kagome spoke as if she were his angel.

How could he have been so blind to think he could let himself fall to the flames and watch Kagome's face vanish forever?

He remember the days he thought he had no one except for the person he believed was out there waiting for him.

He had been tricked so many times…and deceived…..but Kagome finally made it to him once again after hundreds of years trying and searching for his spirit once again.

He knew she would never let him give up so easily, and he suddenly believed in her….as she believed in him.

His hand tightened around hers then as he looked back up at her.

He slowly smiled weakly through his tears.

"Hold my hand until the end." Were his words.

Kagome nodded quickly, knowing exactly what to do.

She reached down and used both her arms, and all her strength at once.

"I…I HAVE YOU!! HANG ON!!" She cried as she pulled him up, slow but sure.

In a flash though, one of the flames formed as one of Kikyo's hands grabbed Inu-Yasha's right leg, pulling him back down.

He screamed out in pain, but he wouldn't let her take him.

Kagome tried to back up, but Kikyo's strength was too much for her to handle!!

Her hands were slipping from Inu-Yasha's arms, and soon they were in his hands.

"NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I WON'T LET YOU TAKE HIM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" She screamed with anger and sorrow mixed together.

Her right hand slipped out of his left, and her left hand was soon to slip form his right!!

It wouldn't long before she would lose him forever, and when she thought of this, she panicked.

"PLEASE!! PLEASE DON'T TAKE HIM AWAY!! PLEASE!!!! I BEG OF YOU!!!" She cried as her tears covered her whole face now.

Suddenly, a pair of arms wrapped around her waste and began to held her pull.

She spun her head around to see Shippo behind her.

"HANG ON, KAGOME!! WE'LL PULL HIM UP TOGETHER!!!!" The teenaged fox demon in human form assured her.

A bit of hope burned inside Kagome in that instant.

Then, out of no where, Sango leaped into the air, ready to swing her boomerang at the flames which were now in the complete shape of Kikyo.

"HIRAIKOTSU!!!!!!!!!!" She shouted as she let the large weapon fly.

"KAZAANA!!!!!!" Miroku yelled from behind Kagome.

Kagome was stunned.

All her friends had come to help when she thought she had no hope left.

She looked to Shippo's kind face.

"Thank you….Shippo." She said with a rather hard to find smile.

He nodded back to her and looked back to Inu-Yasha.

"WE CAN PULL HIM UP!!! I KNOW IT, BUT KIKYO HAS ALREADY BOUND A SPELL OVER HIS BODY!! AS SOON AS MIROKU AND SANGO WEAKEN KIKYO A BIT, WE USE ALL OUR STRENGTH TO PULL INU-YASHA UP, UNDERSTAND?!" He explained.

Kagome nodded quickly.

They both watched as Miroku sealed up his wind tunnel, reached for his staff, and began to chant a spell, while Sango through her boomerang here and there around Kikyo to confuse her, then shoot it into the flames and catch it as it came back out again.

Such technique and skill could only be natural for the two.

Soon, Kikyo looked, and could feel more weaker to Kagome, and she looked to Shippo fast.

"NOW!!! WE MUST PULL HIM UP NOW!!!" She cried.

Shippo agreed with a quick nod, and the two began to pull him up with all their might.

Inu-Yasha shut his eyes tightly, trying to block out everything but the feel of Kagome's and in his.

In seconds which seemed like hours, he let himself be pulled up by the two friends above.

Then, with one more pull, he suddenly landed at the top.

He opened his eyes slowly to find Kagome's watery eyes staring only inches away into his.

It didn't take very long then to have relief poor through him, and he knew he was safe.

They both quickly held each other tightly and cried.

Kagome breathed in deeply, taking in Inu-Yasha's scent as she buried her face into his kimono. So wonderful.

She looked over his shoulder she leaned upon and watched as Sango and Miroku weakened Kikyo enough that she backed away.

There was no way they could both defeat such an awesome power though.

Kagome knew what had to be done.

She pushed away from Inu-Yasha's chest gently, and stood up, a bit wobbly, but balanced at the same time.

"What are you doing?" Inu-Yasha questioned in a very hoarse voice.

Kagome didn't look down to him, but touched his shoulder softly as she walked past him.

He spun around to see what she was doing.

She walked closer and closer to the flames which were Kikyo.

"NO!!! KAGOME!!! GET AWAY!!! YOU MUST!!!" Sango shouted as she landed on the ground before getting hit by one of Kikyo's flamed arms.

Kagome ignored the warning and continued closer.

She stopped only 2 feet away from the flames and stared up at Kikyo's face.

Somehow, Kikyo knew to turn and there their eyes met.

All fell into silence.

Miroku, Sango, Shippo, and Inu-Yasha stared in confusion.

"Kikyo?" Kagome suddenly questioned aloud.

Kikyo's eyes widened at the sound of Kagome's gentle tone.

She looked away, but was soon tempted to turn around again.

"Kikyo? I know the real you is still in there." Kagome stated.

Kikyo shut her eyes, trying to ignore Kagome's words, but they echoed through her mind and she knew there was no choice to look back at Kagome's stern face, now becoming as such.

Kagome swiftly lifted her hand, and remembered the day long ago almost a hundred years before, that she made the wish when she was still a spirit, for a young girl to be born onto the Earth, who would love and care for all. That wish she made had created Kikyo, and the others that stared at her and the tall flames knew about that, so did Kikyo, but there was a new twist that non of them knew about but Kagome and Kikyo at that moment.

Kagome whispered something on the air, and no one else caught it but the flames.

Suddenly, a ray of light surrounded the flames, making them disappear instantly.

Almost as soon as the light had taken Kikyo in, the light shrunk, along with Kikyo form.

Then, the light vanished, and what stood before Kagome and the others was not the normal form of the woman priestess Kikyo, but in her place, a small girl who looked to be about the age of 10, so small that the priestess clothes that the woman Kikyo wore, were now dangling off her body, because of the large size of an adult did not fit her any longer.

The same brown eyes looked up at Kagome though, and the same black hair hung long over the girl's shoulders.

She brought her arms with the overly long sleeves up to her eyes and looked at herself.

"….No….." She whined under her breath.

Inu-Yasha, Miroku, Shippo, and Sango stared in disbelief.

"W…Who is she, Kagome?" Inu-Yasha stuttered.

Kagome smiled slightly, then walked up and knelt down to the girl's eye level.

"This….is the _real _Kikyo." She said simply.

Kikyo glared at her. "No!! Get away from me, you bitch!!! I don't want you near me!! No!!" She complained as she backed away.

Kagome shook her head in Kikyo's stubborn attitude.

"Kagome? I don't get it. Why is the real Kikyo…a child?" Inu-Yasha questioned.

Kagome looked to Kikyo again.

"Well….I remembered all of a sudden, the twist in my wish that I made long ago, when Kikyo was created by my thoughts. Not only would the girl I dreamt up be pure and love and care for everything and everyone around her, but she would also have the gift of eternal childhood….meaning….she would not grow up past the age of 10. When Kikyo was born, she was angered and filled with hatred for Inu-Yasha and I for some reason I will never understand, and so she devised the plan to try and destroy the bond between Inu-Yasha and I. She trapped me within her soul first of all, and because I did not have the gift of eternal childhood, she would grow up into a woman, as I was when she trapped me, then we all know what she did to Inu-Yasha and what she has been doing these past 58 years. Although, after my soul was set free again when she died after pinning Inu-Yasha to the Goshinboku, she left this world as an adult, and so when she was brought back to live by the witch orasuai, she remained as she was when she died, and that was the woman priestess. My wish was destroyed, but the child within her was still there, it just took my spell to release her from the form she had obtained all these years, and reveal the true being inside her own self." Kagome explained with a wise tone.

Kikyo looked away. "SHUT UP!! I HATE YOU!! I HATE YOU!!!" She screamed.

Kagome sighed and looked to Kikyo.

"What to do with you now, I wonder?" She pondered aloud in a saddened voice.

Kikyo looked to the ground.

"May I just rest in peace where no one can bother me?" Kikyo somewhat tried to reason.

Kagome shook her head. "What you've done can not be simply passed like that. You hurt Inu-Yasha. You hurt me. You hurt many others as well. When I made my wish, I truly meant it from the bottom of my heart. I thought the world could us a child so pure, but I suppose it is an impossible thing. I will put you to rest, but one day, you must come back and tell me what you believe should have been done if you had lived. A punishment of yourself is harsh enough."

Kikyo nodded.

Kagome closed her eyes and let the child slowly fade away into the wind.

Kikyo looked to Kagome suddenly. "Oh, Kagome! I'm sorry. I will think about what I've done, kay?"

Kagome stared for a moment, then smiled warmly as she nodded.

Soon, Kikyo was gone, and everything fell into quietness again.

"I guess in the end….she still, in a way, had a child as pure as a child could ever be, within her soul. It's too bad my wish never succeeded…..but at least…..everything's fine….now." Kagome explained slowly, then lost her footing, and fell to the ground in her weakness, fainting in a graceful way.

All she could remember was being caught in strong arms, and that was it.

~Oi friends!! Okay! Next is truly and most certainly my LAST chaptie!! Sorry it's so long, but hey! I couldn't just bulge it all up together in one whole chapter!! That would be odd!! HeHe!~

~chibikagome1@yahoo.com~


	12. Chapter Eleven My life may not be perfec...

~Chapter Eleven~ ~My life may not be perfect, but it's so grand that I could call it as such~

The smell of cherry blossoms and other wondrous things caught ones scent.

Sunrays dared to pour in onto the sleeping form under the futon covers, as if it had created a blanket of sunlight just for her.

Kagome slowly stirred and opened her eyes to find herself laying on her soft pillow, under her cozy quilts, in her warm hut, in her village.

The sun that she could see through the window above her futon was brilliant, and she knew it was right in the middle of the early noon, perhaps around 11:00 a.m.

She couldn't remember much at first, and then it hit her as she suddenly realized that she felt no other form beside her.

She quickly sat up and tried to jump out of the quilts, but a sharp pain entered her right leg, sending her back down.

She looked to the leg and saw bandage wrapped around it tightly.

She remembered also that she had been injured by Kikyo then.

She didn't know where anyone was, or if Inu-Yasha was even still alive!!

His presence was no where around, she could sense it!!

She felt tears prick her eyes.

*H…have I lost…..lost…..lost him……_forever_?* She thought to herself as she buried her face into her knees and tried desperately to remember what had happened.

She remembered Kikyo as the child, and she remembered that child disappearing from her sight. She remembered saying something wise to the people that stood behind her, and as if a part of her memory was ripped in two, she could remember nothing else.

"Where….where are you? Where??" She whispered aloud.

"Mama?" Questioned a small voice suddenly.

Kagome's eyes shot open to find little Karu standing in the doorway of the hut.

"Mama? Why are you crying?" Karu questioned again.

Kagome didn't know what to say! Should she ask where Inu-Yasha was, or should she just pretend that everything was okay? She didn't know!!

Karu smiled happily after a moment.

"I'm so glad, mama!! I thought you'd _never _wake up!! You took a really long nap!" The little child laughed as she ran to her mother's side.

Kagome couldn't take it.

"W…where have you been all day?" She questioned, trying to not sound sad.

Karu smiled. "I went to pick you lots of flowers!" Karu stated.

Kagome looked to the child's arms. Nothing was there.

"But…where are the flowers? Did you pick at all?"

Karu nodded. "Yes! But there were so many that I couldn't carry them all myself!"

Just then, the hut door opened again.

"Man!! I swear, you gotta stop picking so many! What are there here? Like a million??" Said a voice more then perfect to Kagome's ears.

Karu giggled. "I'm sorry! I wanted mama to feel really a lot better!"

"Take out the _really _in that sentence and you'd have a perfect one! You gotta be quiet though. Isn't your mom still sleeping?" Said the voice again.

Because of all the flowers pilled up in his arms, he couldn't see that Kagome was wide awake.

Karu nodded. "Nope! Mama is await now! Finally! Are you not, mama?" 

Kagome smiled in happiness and put her hand onto Karu's cheek.

"Yes. Why don't you go out for a minute and go see what MiMiru and Miku are doing, alright?" She whispered.

Karu smiled again. "Okay! See you later!"

And with that, Karu ran out the door before Inu-Yasha could say anymore.

He put down the piles of flowers and looked to Kagome for a moment.

It was silent for a long while as the two just stared, wondering what to say.

Finally, Inu-Yasha walked over to Kagome's side and knelt down.

The smile on his lips was so pure.

Kagome was about to say something when he suddenly wrapped his arms around her.

"I'm so happy. So happy that you're okay. I was terribly worried that you would never wake up or something. Maybe it was just a nightmare, but I was just so scared!" He stated into her hair.

Kagome grinning lovingly at his words.

"I thought Kikyo had taken you. I couldn't remember what had happened. I thought I'd never see you again."

Inu-Yasha felt her tremble a bit as her fingers griped his kimono tightly.

He pulled her back a ways and stared into her eyes so beautiful.

He ran his fingers across her face and almost got lost within her gaze.

He leaned close and laid his lips over hers softly.

It felt so tender and gentle.

After a moment he left her lips and then kissed her forehead delicately as well.

"I love you. How I love you." He whispered.

Kagome smiled and ran her fingers through his silver hair.

"I love you too. Forever. I thought I had lost you. I never want to believe that you might go away one day. Never. I realize that if you did, I would die myself, and nothing would be left of me except an emotionless body and an empty heart. If you ever left or was taken away from me…..I…..I can't even come to image the grief and horror I would have within me. Please…..don't ever go too far away. I can't bear it. I can't." She went on and began to sob a bit.

"I promise I will never leave. How can I anyway? Without you I'm nothing, and I mean that in a good way. You are the light that keeps me going, and the home that I always will know. A place in your heart will always be there for me. And so I will never leave you, because if I did, I don't know if I could last a mere hour." Inu-Yasha spoke so kindly.

Kagome felt so happy and sad at the same time.

"N…No one's ever said that before. Am I truly that important?" She questioned as more tears fell down her cheeks.

Inu-Yasha held her closer so that he could feel her heart on his chest.

"More then true. Please dry your tears now. We don't need that. You just woke up! You should be happy. We all should. Are you up to doing something tonight?" 

Kagome pulled away gently and wiped the tears away with the beck of her hands.

"Um…sure. But…what about my leg and Karu?"

Inu-Yasha smiled. "I'll carry you. And Karu can come too."

Kagome nodded.

Karu stepped into the hut again as if she had been waiting the whole time.

She held her hands behind her back and had a sweet look on her face.

Kagome stared at her daughter.

"What? What did you find? I thought you were playing with MiMiru and Miku! Are they not home?"

Karu shook her head.

"They're home…..I found something for you though!"

Kagome looked to her hands.

Karu smiled down at a snapdragon in her hands.

Kagome smiled too. "Snapdragons are my favorite. They don't come out around this time though. Where did you get it from?"

Karu turned to Inu-Yasha.

"I don't know where I got it from. It was already picked when I found it! It was down by…..the…..um….the old well."

Kagome looked to Inu-Yasha.

He shrugged, not knowing what to say.

Kagome looked back at Karu and took the snapdragon gently from her hands.

"Thank you."

And then hugged the child and sent her out again.

Karu blushed and laughed sweetly before running out to play again.

Kagome looked back to the snapdragon and then set it down beside her pillow as she laid down.

"Did you find it, Inu-Yasha?" She asked dozily.

Inu-Yasha looked down to her and grinned.

"Kagome……I love you."

That was all it took for Kagome to stop wondering aimlessly about the flower and close her eyes with a smile.

She fell asleep again with Inu-Yasha close by, cleaning up the mess of other flowers Karu and him had brought in earlier, quietly humming something from long ago that Kagome had, at one point, sung to him one night under the stars and the moon's rainbow.

~That night~

Kagome sat upon Inu-Yasha's back as they walked through the dark forest at about 11:30 at night.

Karu held Inu-Yasha's hand tightly and stood so close to him that he had literally almost tripped over her about 5 times now!!

"Karu! What's wrong? Why do you keep keeping so close to my legs?" Inu-Yasha would question in a bit of annoyance.

Karu would continually answer that she was really scared, but Inu-Yasha had failed each time to believe that his daughter would be scared of the night!

Kagome had to explain to him after the 6th time Karu had almost tripped Inu-Yasha, that children, particularly little girls, were simply afraid of the dark! There was nothing wrong or unusual about that at all!

Inu-Yasha agreed, and said he was sorry to Karu, but it was still a bit of a bother to repeatedly watch where he was stepping incase Karu would trip him, or he would trip Karu!!

Now it was the 7th time.

"D…daddy!! Look over there!! A pair of yellow glowing eyes!!!!!! IT'S A DEMON!!!!!!!!" She screeched.

Inu-Yasha looked to where Karu was pointing to, and he almost wanted to laugh.

"That's no demon. Here."

He brought all three of them into the clearing that Karu saw the yellow lights in, and set Kagome down on a tree root gently.

She watched.

Karu stared as Inu-Yasha then took her small hand and led her over to the bushes where the lights were.

"NO!!!!!! IT'LL GET YOU, DADDY!!!!! RUN AWAY!!!!!!" Karu yelled.

Inu-Yasha stuck his hand into the bushes and pulled out a hand filled with small lights.

Karu stared in confusion.

"T….These aren't demons! But…what _are _they then?" She asked.

Inu-Yasha smiled.

"They're called fireflies. They're little bugs that come out in the summer nights to…well…to play I guess with it's friends, just like you like to go out and play in the day with _your _friends. Only fireflies like to play with children like you at night too. They like to play catch. You try and catch them, and when you do, you let them go, and try to catch more! They think it's the best, but only once in a while will children be up at this time of night to play with them. I figure that since they'll only be here for the summer, and you're out here tonight, you should play with them for a little. I know I did when I was your age, and I'm sure your mom did too! It's fun! Try it." He explained as he handed Karu a few of the fireflies.

She stared down at them in her hands, then smiled happily.

"Okay! Here we go then!" She called as she let them fly out of her hands, then began to chase them with much speed.

"Just don't go too far from here, okay Karu!" Inu-Yasha warned to her as she vanished into the trees in the other clearing.

Inu-Yasha sat down beside Kagome and smiled to her.

She was so beautiful he couldn't help it.

Her hair waved over her shoulders, and her eyes lit up with the firefly glow in the background.

He smiled even larger.

"Kagome….I…..don't know what to say!" He confessed.

Kagome giggled and leaned closer to him.

"Then don't say a word. Just be by me…..in this place…..at this time….and hear me breathe…..and feel me hold your hand…..and just smile. We are together. That's a simple statement that will forever mean much to me. We are together. Smiling. Here. Our lives may not be perfect…but….it's so grand one could call it as such."

Inu-Yasha did as Kagome said.

He listened to her breathe as he said nothing more, smiling as he did so. How thankful he was to have this thing. This thing he thought he'd never have. A home. A love. A child. A smile. A breath. A hand to hold. Two arms to fall into. A family.

He closed his eyes and listened as Kagome fell asleep again, huddled up close to him, her lips still curved into a smile.

Soon, he felt Karu rush over and climb up to his lap.

She fell asleep there after a moment or two.

It didn't take much for her to find dreams, and to add onto it, it was already midnight.

He finally opened his eyes again.

Fireflies and a few dragonflies hung around in the trees and in the clearing.

He looked down to see Kagome's face, still in that smile, peaceful and warm, now that she knew she would never be left alone by him, knowing that he loved her, and that was all she needed to live on. 

He saw Karu's face as well. Sweet and adorable she was, sleeping soundly upon his chest, most likely dreaming a wonderful dream, so innocent and cute, simply happy to find out that the lights were not demons, but in truth, new friends, and she would wake the next morning, ready to play and run, and be free as any child should be, and forever knowing that she would be loved by her daddy and mama, her aunty Sango and uncle Miroku, her two best friends MiMiru and Miku, and everyone else in her family, perhaps even the far away Sesshoumaru and Rin, which she had heard stories about all her life.

Inu-Yasha placed both arms around his two most treasured beings, and grinning softly, looking forward to a new day, soon to come.

He knew that from that point on, he would never had to worry again, only of small things, such as how Kagome would think of him if he asked her one day if maybe they could have another child, or go on an adventure like old times, or maybe wonder if Karu would ever become more like him, or like Kagome. Such things so small that nothing big would ever happen again.

He hugged both of them and smiled more.

He then looked up to the night sky and his eyes widened.

The moon's rainbow was across the dark blue heavens as the full moon sat far off in the middle of the sky, gleaming.

*Had everything started when I was with Kagome under the moon's rainbow that night 5 years ago?* He wondered.

Then he remembered all those other memories that should never be forgotten.

Of the shards, and Miroku, and Shippo, and Sango, and Kirara.

Of things of battles for hearts and treasure, and smiles and frowns, tears and laughter. Holding on till the end and then beyond.

*No. Everything _hadn't _started that night 5 years ago under this very rainbow that's invisible to many but Kagome and I. It didn't start those many hundreds of years ago either, when Kagome and I were only spirits, searching for one another. It started sometime 8 years ago……back when everything was missing, and yet……..everything was already put together.* He thought to himself.

He closed his eyes to sleep.

*It started that day……….when a 15 year old girl got pulled into a dried well on her family's shrine, and came out in a world 500 years before her own time, in a place called feudal Japan, where she found a sacred tree, where a half-demon was under a curse. A curse that was meant to be placed, so that he could find the girl's soul again. And when she broke that curse, and set the half-demon free, that, now that……..was where it all began.*

The End.

~WOOOHOOOO!!!!!!!! I'M DONE!! YEPPIE YEP! I hope you enjoyed my story!!! Please review anytime! ^_^ Thank you fellow readers!!!!!!! This is chibi Kagome….saying… "SAYONARA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" hehehehehehehehehe!!!~

~chibikagome1@yahoo.com~


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